You Are Everything I Never Knew I Always Wanted
by Courteney
Summary: **COMPLETED** SLASH DM+HP - Essentially the whole story revolves around Harry and Draco who have been openly together for more than a year. It is deliberately fluffy and quite sappy. Enjoy!
1. Thinking of you

**Disclaimer: Everything except the plot belongs to JKR.**

**SLASH WARNING!!!! Do not read any further if you don't like reading about boys dating boys…….**

~ Slytherin Common Room ~

Draco sat staring into space.  He'd been doing it for quite a while and was getting rather good at it.  It was a rainy Saturday afternoon and Draco was sitting in what was regarded by all as his armchair in front of a roaring fire in the Slytherin common room.  There were a few others in the room with him, although he was no longer aware of it.  They were only first or second year students diligently studying for an upcoming exam and were unlikely to bother the brooding seventh year boy.  Draco sighed and pushed his light golden hair away from his face.  Watching the flickering flames, Draco allowed his mind to wander while being careful to avoid unpleasant subjects.  He moved uncomfortably in the chair, glad that he had decided not to wear his robes today.  He was tired of wearing the long flowing robes the wizards were so attached to.  Why on earth they wanted to wear something like a dress Draco could never figure out.  It would have surprised many in the school to know that Draco actually preferred Muggle clothing.  In fact right now, he was wearing a pair of black leather pants, a black v-neck t-shirt and a pair of black boots.  He looked mysterious and sexy which caused the girls in the room to stare at him and giggle.  Draco didn't notice, it was a common occurrence throughout the school and of no interest to him anyway.

It really was a pity, he thought idly, that the Hogsmeade trip had to be cancelled due to the rain…I could do with a Butterbeer right about now, although something a bit stronger would probably be better.  He persistently refused to so much as think about what had caused him to become so melancholy.  It was not important in the whole scheme of things, he thought as he dismissed the topic a touch angrily.  Oh, hell, it's important to me, he thought suddenly fuming.  Unable to keep still any longer, Draco shot up out of his seat, much to the startled surprise of the other students in the room.  He started pacing around the room, not paying much attention to his surroundings.  The argument played over in his mind, a mocking reminder of his arrogance.  As usual he had assumed that he was right and what he wanted was the most important thing.  Oh my god, he couldn't be *gasp* wrong, could he?  Overwhelmed by a sudden unfamiliar feeling, Draco felt the need to escape the confines of the castle.  

Taking no notice of the rain that was still pouring down, Draco ran down the steps of the school and out onto the grounds.  He kept running until he found himself in the middle of the Quidditch pitch.  He slowed down and stopped.  Draco stood for a moment letting the rain run down his face.  Slowly he raised his arms and started to spin around and around, letting the rain fall down on him.  His hair and his clothes were soaked within minutes but Draco didn't care.  He felt free out here in the wild weather, freer than he had in a long time.

~ Gryffindor Common Room ~

Harry sat on a window seat in the common room staring out at the rain.  He was leaning against the wall and had his feet up on the seat.  He had listened when Hermione had admonished him for putting his "dirty" feet up on the seat, but she wasn't here now. From high up in Gryffindor tower, he had a pretty impressive view of the surrounding countryside.  However Harry didn't take in the beauty of the land outside, his focus was firmly internal.  The argument kept replaying over and over again in Harry's mind, although during the last dozen or so times, he changed it slightly, adding all the things he could have and should have said differently.  Stop it, he chided himself, you can't change it now, it's too late.  Harry's green eyes flashed angrily, this is ridiculous.  It didn't even mean anything and now it's all blown out of proportion.  

Harry pushed his hands up into his black hair and held his head in his hands.  How had it all gone so wrong?  One minute everything was fine, no – better than fine and now, now everything had gone to hell.  The worst part was that it didn't even seem fixable.  Well, Harry had to admit, that's not true.  It is fixable, just not by me.  That was where the real problem lay.  Harry hated feeling this powerless.  Everything he'd ever wanted, everything he'd ever needed, lay in the hands of another.  It was quite a new feeling for Harry, that he couldn't control or resolve everything.  After battling with Voldemort a few more times since he was in Tom Riddle's graveyard – and finally winning – Harry had gotten used to the feeling that there was nothing he couldn't handle.  Now he was hit with a situation that was totally out of his control and that scared the hell out of him.  

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed some movement outside.  He peered through the window down at the ground below.  Someone was leaving the building.  Who would be insane enough to go out in this weather? Harry scoffed.  Still, he couldn't help watching the dark figure's progress as they ran across the ground.  Towards the Quidditch pitch, Harry realised.  Who would go to the Quidditch pitch on a day like today?  Harry squinted at the figure and recognised the blond hair as belonging to only one person – Draco.  What the hell was he thinking, going out in the rain like that?  Harry watched in fascination as Draco held up his arms and started twirling around the pitch.  Draco? Twirling?

Harry scrambled up off the window seat and headed for the portrait hole.  Ron and Hermione had a date in the Astronomy tower that afternoon so they weren't there to question where he was going.  For once he was thankful for their almost single-minded devotion to each other.  He jogged down the stairs of the tower and outside towards the Quidditch pitch, ignoring the steadily worsening rain.


	2. Making up

~ Quidditch Pitch ~

Draco finally stopped spinning, feeling more than a little woozy.  He staggered about for a minute and fell down in a puddle.  He didn't care about the mud or the puddle, he felt safer down on the ground right at that moment.  Way to much spinning there Draco, he thought wryly with a ghost of a smile.  Draco didn't really know what had made him start spinning in that childish manner.  Perhaps it was due to the fact that it was so childish.  He had never really had a chance to be a child in the true essence of the word and it had just seemed like a fun thing to do at the time.  Fun wasn't a word usually associated with Draco Malfoy, or any Malfoy for that matter but Draco was trying to change that.   

He heard heavy footsteps coming his way and he looked up and caught his breath.  Harry.  Harry wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt which was now thoroughly soaked.  He stopped in front of the Slytherin.  Draco's eyes raked over Harry's body, very aware of the see-through quality the shirt had now it was wet.  

"What are you doing here?" Draco demanded, his anger returning.  Damn it, what part of 'I need space' didn't Harry understand?

"In spite of everything you said, no wait, YELLED at me, I was worried about you," Harry replied scathingly, "but apparently I've wasted my time so I'll be going now."  Harry turned to go, but not before he had his fill of the sight of Draco.  It should be illegal for Draco to wear leather pants, Harry thought with desire.  Even soaking wet, that boy looked hot.  Actually, the rain added to, rather than subtracted from his good looks.

"Wait!" Draco called out impulsively.  Harry turned back and watched as Draco got to his feet.  "Harry, I…oh hell, I'm no good at this…I'm sorry alright?  I was…not altogether right at this point in time."  

"So this means you were…" he prompted with a decidedly wicked grin.

"Wrong," Draco scowled at Harry.  "Happy now?"

"Very," Harry replied, still smiling smugly.

"I hope you realise that this is a very rare occurrence, so I'm going to let you enjoy your feeling of superiority this one time because I know-" Draco was cut off by Harry's lips on his.  Draco forgot whatever witty retort he had lined up for Harry as he wound his arms around Harry's neck and buried his fingers in his dark hair.  Harry pulled Draco closer to him as he deepened the kiss.  Their tongues duelled while their bodies melted against each other.  They fell to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs, Harry on top of Draco.

"I've missed you," Draco groaned as Harry pressed hot kisses down his neck.  Harry drew away to look down into silver eyes, filled with desire.  

"I missed you too," he said softly, "but we can't do this in the middle of the Quidditch pitch, in the middle of the day."  He rolled onto his side and pulled Draco into his arms.  They held each other in their arms for a while before realising that it was getting dark.  

"We'd better go in and get changed.  Dinner will be soon," Harry said reluctantly.

"Same time and place tonight?" Draco asked hopefully.  

Harry kissed him deeply.

"Definitely," he responded enthusiastically.  Harry stood up and held out his hand to Draco.  The blond boy took it and Harry pulled him up beside him.  They stood for a moment, just staring, their eyes saying more than words ever could.  Silently, both turned and headed in to the castle.

~ Gryffindor Common Room ~

Harry came downstairs after showering and changing out of his muddy Muggle clothes into school robes to find Ron and Hermione waiting for him.  At least, he assumed they were waiting for him.  They were too busy kissing to notice he was even in the room.  Harry looked around and spied Hermione's neat stack of books on the desk that was regarded as hers.  Harry sidled over to it and pushed them off the desk.  Ron and Hermione jumped up as Harry looked as innocent as he possibly could in a room with only two other people.  

"Harry!" Hermione wailed, "How could you?  The exam study schedules I made up for us are all messed up now!"  

Ron gave Harry a thumbs up and a grin.  Harry tried his best to look persecuted.

"You say that like I did it on purpose!  I'm offended that you would even think such a thing!" he retorted theatrically.  

Ron gave Harry a thumbs down and a contrived frown.

"What?" he asked Ron, "Too unbelievable?"

"Too dramatic," Ron replied with a laugh, "You've been with Malfoy way too long.  He's starting to rub off on you."  

Hermione finally had her books in order and stood up to place them back on the desk.  She raised her eyebrow at Harry.

"Someone's in a good mood.  Anything you'd like to share with us?" she encouraged.

"Draco admitted that he was wrong," Harry said with a grin.  He couldn't help it.  It was the first time in their relationship that Draco had backed down and admitted he was wrong and Harry was planning on milking it for all it was worth.  Who knew when this opportunity would arise again?

Ron and Hermione both stared in shock at Harry.

"You're kidding, right?  Malfoy actually admitted that he was wrong?  Did I miss something? Did hell suddenly freeze over?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Let me get this straight – Draco told you that he thought moving in together after graduation is a good idea?" Hermione asked, demanding clarification.  

"He didn't actually say it like that but he said that he wasn't right," Harry replied, with a sinking feeling.  

Hermione bit her lip and looked away.  She didn't want to be the one to tell Harry that she thought his boyfriend was stringing him along until school finished.

"I know, I know.  I'm pathetic," Harry said as he sat down on the nearest chair with a sigh.  

"You are not pathetic, Harry.  You're in love," Hermione replied sympathetically.

"I'm not in love with him!" Harry replied a bit too quickly.  Hermione sent him her 'you know I'm right' look.

"Oh my god, I'm in love with him!"  Harry stared at Hermione in awe. 

"You know, after more than a year together, you'd think you'd have realised that by now," Hermione grinned at him.

"Come on, let's go down to dinner," she said.


	3. Angst

~ Gryffindor Boys Dorm ~

Later that night, Harry lay in his bed obsessing over the last 24 hours.  He had met Draco in the old storeroom they usually met in not long after dinner.  They'd had incredible make up sex, but Harry pushed aside the memories and concentrated on the revelation that had occurred before dinner.  He was in love with Draco.  He'd known for a while that he loved Draco, but the fact that he was in love with him had never occurred to him.  Frankly, it shocked the pants off him.  Loving someone and being in love with them were two very different things.  He'd thought that if things hadn't gone well he could just walk away but now he knew that there was no way he could ever walk away from Draco now.  

Why did it have to be so complicated? He thought with a sigh.  He stared up at the ceiling, his hands behind his head.  When he had been with Draco after dinner, he had searched Draco's eyes, his expressions and gestures for some sign that he was a deeply involved as Harry was.  Unfortunately he had been distracted by how sexy Draco was.  Well, that and the fact that Draco was naked had distracted him.  They still hadn't talked about what they had fought so bitterly about.  Harry couldn't understand why Draco had been so against the two of them moving in together.  It had seemed like the perfect solution.  He knew he was going to be kicked out of the Dursley's as soon as he graduated and he had thought that Draco would jump at the chance to leave Malfoy Manor.  Apparently he'd been wrong.  Now Draco had admitted that he'd been wrong.  But now that the elation of being right had worn off, Harry realised that he didn't even know what Draco admitted to being wrong about.  Wrong to start an argument?  Wrong to disagree about moving in together?  Wrong to stalk off before they'd finished arguing?  It could be taken so many different ways.  

Harry thought back to their argument a couple of nights ago…

--------------

Harry and Draco sat out by the lake.  It was about midnight and the full moon shone down on them, making Draco's hair glow.  Harry had been the one to bring up the topic of life after Hogwart's.  

_"So, uh, have you thought about what you're going to do after we graduate?" Harry asked tentatively._

_"Not really," Draco answered vaguely._

_"Where are you going to live?" Harry asked.  Stop beating around the bush and just ask him! he thought exasperatedly._

_"The Manor," Draco replied apathetically._

_"Do you want to live with me?" Harry asked, holding his breath waiting for an answer, the right answer._

_"What?" Draco laughed (He's actually laughing at me, Harry thought indignantly).  "With the muggles?"_

_"Of course not," Harry said cynically.  "They're dying to kick me out.  I meant we could get a place together."_

"Don't be stupid, Harry.  It doesn't become you.  I'm a Malfoy.  I live in Malfoy Manor.  It is my birthright," Draco drawled.

"I'm not going to be welcome at the Manor, so when are we going to see each other?" Harry asked, annoyed at the whining tone his voice had taken on.

"Oh, come on Harry.  Don't tell me you truly thought this would continue after graduation?" Draco said scathingly.

"Why not?  It doesn't have to end." Harry pleaded, trying to shake the feeling that he was fighting a losing battle.

"How on earth can it continue?  You said it, you're not welcome at the Manor and that is where I have to be right now, so where does that leave us? No where." Draco yelled.

"Why do you have to be there?  Why can't you leave?" Harry hated being in this position, forced to beg Draco for answers to what seemed like simple questions.  However, with the Slytherin, nothing was ever simple. 

"I don't have time for this," Draco said dismissively as he got up.  Harry stared as Draco walked away without another word.

 --------------

It wasn't like Draco was being forced to be a Death Eater, Harry thought.  Voldemort was gone and a golden age of peace had fallen over the wizarding world.  So why the hell wouldn't Draco leave Malfoy Manor?  He'd said it was his birthright.  Since when had Draco cared about stuff like that?  He'd taken great delight in belittling his heritage in the past.  What had changed?  Actually, the major problem was Draco's belief that their relationship would end as soon as they graduated.  It wasn't like Draco to care what other people thought, neither of them cared what the rest of the Hogwart's population (student and faculty) thought of their relationship.  They didn't flaunt it (well, maybe a little, it was fun to watch the reactions they got) but neither did they try to hide anything.  Both of them had a 'who gives a shit' attitude towards life.  Harry had never had the expectations of his parents to live up to, so he really didn't care what other people thought.  Sure, the magical community had expectations but they were unreasonably high and were based on an image set in place when Harry was just a baby.  Draco must have expectations from his parents, but he never talked about it and seemed to ignore them anyway.  

It was clear that Harry wasn't going to get the answers he was looking for tonight.  He tossed and turned for about an hour before he finally fell asleep.  

~ Great Hall ~

The next morning at breakfast, Harry's eyes kept flicking over towards the Slytherin table.  Draco wasn't down yet.  Hermione sat down next to him.

"Hi, where's Ron?" Harry asked, surprised to see her alone.

"Hi.  He's giving Dean the talk," she said with a smile.

"The talk? What are you talking about?" Harry was thoroughly confused.

"You know, the big brother don't-hurt-my-sister-or-I'll-hurt-you talk," Hermione explained with an even bigger grin.  Harry's eyes widened as the implications of her words sunk in.

"Dean and Ginny?  Wow, when did that happen?" Harry asked.

"Apparently it's been going on for months.  They've been sneaking around and keeping it a secret since Christmas.  Ron was very shocked, although I think he's relieved that it's Dean and not Seamus since Seamus has broken more hearts in this school than Neville has melted cauldrons……….."  

Hermione kept talking but Harry had stopped listening.  Draco had entered the Great Hall.  Harry didn't take his eyes off him as he watched his lover walk across the room and sit down at the Slytherin table.  Draco still hadn't looked over at the Gryffindor's.  For all their liking for direct action, their I-don't-give-a-shit-and-I'm-going-to-do-what-I-want attitude, neither of them seemed inclined to talk directly about the problem which now hung between them like an impenetrable wall.  Sometimes Harry got the feeling that this was ridiculous, just a stupid fight.  But it was based on deeper issues and he knew that if they didn't face them then pretty soon those issues would end their relationship.  Harry stared down at his still full plate.  All this angst isn't good for me, he thought, if I keep this up, I'll be too weak to play Quidditch.  Right now, the thought of food made him sick.  I need to talk to him, he thought, but what will I say?  

Hundreds of owls flew into the Hall.  Hedwig was among them.  She flew down to Harry, landed gracefully and held out her leg.  Harry untied the letter that was attached and gave her some of his uneaten bacon.  He quickly unfolded the letter, eager to see who it was from…


	4. Sad puppy look

~ Slytherin Boys Dorm ~

Draco lay curled up in his bed, wide-awake with a satisfied smile on his face.  The smile died as he remembered the argument he and Harry had had a couple of days ago.  Draco had the feeling he was being torn in two.  He wanted to be with Harry and be the caring, fun-to-be-with person he knew he could be but his father was hell bent on resurrecting the Death Eaters and taking over as Dark Lord now that Voldemort was dead.  He was insisting that Draco play his part in the drama.  Unfortunately Draco had no choice but to do what Lucius asked and pray that he would live up to his side of their deal.  At least he hadn't insisted that Draco bear the Dark Mark yet. Draco groaned as he thought of the deal he had struck with his father.  The would-be Dark Lord had promised to leave Harry alone as long as Draco did what he asked.  Harry was the only person Draco knew he couldn't live without, the only person he would die to protect.  But it was becoming harder to keep this whole mess from Harry.  Draco knew that if he told Harry what was going on, then Harry would get all noble on him and feel that he had to do something to make it right.  The argument they'd had the other night had been terrible but he was now beginning to see that it was inevitable.  There were only a few months until graduation and then what?  Draco couldn't see how they could continue to be together.  Draco sighed and replayed the argument in his head.

--------------

Harry and Draco sat out by the lake.  It was about midnight and the full moon shone down on them, reflected in Harry's emerald eyes.  Draco sat still, mesmerised by his lover's beauty.

_"So, uh, have you thought about what you're going to do after we graduate?" Harry asked tentatively._

_"Not really," Draco answered vaguely.  Damn, why did Harry have to ruin the moment? _

_"Where are you going to live?" Harry asked.  _

_"The Manor," Draco replied apathetically.  Stop it Harry, he thought, you do _not_ want to have this conversation with me._

_"Do you want to live with me?" Harry asked.  Fuck, he's just not going to let this go, is he? Draco thought irritably.   _

_"What?" Draco laughed.  "With the muggles?"_

_"Of course not," Harry said cynically.  "They're dying to kick me out.  I meant we could get a place together."_

"Don't be stupid, Harry.  It doesn't become you.  I'm a Malfoy.  I live in Malfoy Manor.  It is my birthright," Draco drawled sardonically.  That's right, insult him.  That's the way to make this situation better, Draco thought sarcastically.

"I'm not going to be welcome at the Manor, so when are we going to see each other?" Harry asked.

"Oh, come on Harry.  Don't tell me you truly thought this would continue after graduation?" Draco said scathingly.  What the fuck are you saying? Draco asked himself.  Do you really want to end this?  Do I really have a choice not to?

"Why not?  It doesn't have to end." Harry pleaded.

"How on earth can it continue?  You said it, you're not welcome at the Manor and that is where I have to be right now, so where does that leave us? No where." Draco yelled, his indifferent façade cracking.

"Why do you have to be there?  Why can't you leave?" Harry asked.  Let it go Harry, Draco thought despairingly.  I can't explain….

"I don't have time for this," Draco said as he got up and stalked back into the castle.  What did I just do? He asked himself.  Did I just break up with Harry?  

 --------------

Draco couldn't lie still any longer.  He quietly got out of bed, pulled his robes over his pyjamas and crept out of the dorm.  He left the common room and started roaming the halls.  He still felt relieved that he hadn't broken up with Harry that night.  Although what would happen after graduation was anyone's guess.  Draco wanted to live with Harry but he knew his father would forbid it.  _Keep Harry safe_, Draco repeated over and over.  It was his new mantra.  It used to be _fuck Harry senseless _but unfortunately he'd had to change it.  That didn't mean that he _didn't_ fuck Harry senseless every chance he got though, Draco smiled.  Damn Lucius and his stupid ambitions.  Like he could ever replace the Dark Lord.  His plans to take over the magical community were so laughable, Draco had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud at the strategy meetings.  Lucius reminded him of Dr. Evil from that muggle movie Harry had taken him to see.  Once he had gotten used to the way the pictures moved (so different to magic photos) he had really enjoyed it. Draco had particularly loved the way Dr. Evil's son had made fun of him.  Surely there has to be a way to keep Harry safe and get away from Lucius at the same time, he thought despondently.

Draco found himself in the owlery a little past 2am.  There weren't too many owls there at the moment, most were busy delivering letters and packages.  A smile appeared on his face.  He hadn't sent Harry a love letter since they had gone public with their relationship, which had been very early on as they had seen no reason to hide it.  There was some parchment and a quill on a desk near the window.  Draco crossed over to it, sat down and started to write.

~ Great Hall ~

Draco entered the Great Hall later than usual.  He walked directly to the Slytherin table and sat down without looking around.  He picked up a piece of toast and nibbled on it unenthusiastically.  

"What's the matter, Draco?  Had another fight with Harry, did you?"  Pansy asked curiously.  Uh oh, Draco thought, the gossip-queen is in the building.

"Everything's fine," he said shortly.  This conversation is over.  Unfortunately Pansy didn't seem to get the message, either that or she was ignoring it.

"He's been staring over here all morning with a sad puppy look on his face," Pansy informed him with a giggle.  Oh, crap, Draco thought, the sad puppy look - gets me every time.

Hundreds of owls flew into the Hall.  Draco watched Hedwig's progress as she flew towards the Gryffindor's.  He hoped this letter would appease whatever torment Harry was putting himself through now.


	5. The Letter

~ Great Hall ~

Harry unfolded the parchment and smoothed it on the table.  He glanced down at the signature.

**Padfoot **

Sirius, Harry thought with a smile.  He looked back up a the top of the page and started reading…

**Dear Harry, **

**Just a quick note to answer to your question - follow your heart.  If you truly love him you need to tell him how you feel.  I don't think I need to remind you how precious the time we have here on earth is.  **

**Moony and I are both fine.  Actually Moony is better than fine, he has a lady friend!  Say hi to Ron and Hermione for us.  **

**Padfoot **

Harry glanced up from the letter and caught Draco's eye.  The blond boy stared back.  Harry pushed the letter in his pocket and stood up.  He headed towards the Slytherin table as Draco got up and turned to face Harry.  Harry framed Draco's face with his hands.  His lips touched Draco's.  The Great Hall erupted in cheers as the two boys kissed.  

"What was that for?" Draco asked breathlessly.

"Do I need a reason to kiss my boyfriend?" Harry asked teasingly.

"No," Draco answered with a smile.  Harry smiled back at him.  He wanted to do what Sirius had suggested and tell Draco that his feelings were deeper, that he loved him, but not here, not in front of the whole school.  Kissing was one thing, confessing his feelings was another.  Especially since he wasn't entirely sure how Draco would react.  They had never had a serious conversation about their relationship and their feelings.  It would have to wait until tonight.

~ Potions ~

Harry and Draco sat together at one of the back tables as they waited for Snape to appear.  Draco slid his hand into his pocket and fingered the letter he had written last night.  He hadn't sent it.  He didn't know why.  Well, he had his suspicions but he didn't want to admit, even to himself, that he was afraid.  Malfoy's were never scared.  They would have made good Gryffindor's in that respect were it not for the fact that their ambition greatly outweighed their courage.  Draco shook his head, trying to clear the stray thoughts from his mind.  Focus, he told himself sternly.  Harry shot a questioning look his way and Draco realised he'd been acting strangely.  Harry reached out a hand and grasped Draco's wrist.

"Are you okay?" he asked concernedly.  Draco pulled his hand out of his pocket and out of Harry's grasp.  The letter fell unnoticed to the ground.

"I'm fine.  Just distracted," Draco said casually.  Harry grinned.

"Distracted by what?"

"You, lover, you are so sexy and I want you right here, right now," Draco drawled as Harry's eyes widened.  Draco reached out and pulled Harry to him as their lips met in a fiery kiss.  

"Ahem."

The two boys broke apart.  Snape was glaring at the two of them.  

"When you have quite finished, we have a potion to brew."

"Actually, we're not quite finished yet.  Just another minute," Draco said cheekily as he pulled Harry back towards him.  

"Kiss him and that will be 50 points from Slytherin."  

Snape turned to glare at Pansy as she stuttered something about taking points from Slytherin.

"Yes, from my own house Miss Parkinson."

Draco reluctantly let Harry go and they both sat down.  Snape sneered at them and walked back up to the front of the room.  Most people had accepted Draco and Harry together.  In fact the students in Slytherin had been surprisingly supportive, although that was mainly due to the fact that at the beginning they'd thought it was part of an elaborate plot to either catch Harry for Voldemort, or to bring Harry over to the dark side.  Once they'd learnt the truth (that there was no dastardly plot) they had been so used to the sight of them together that no one minded.  Unfortunately the same could not be said for Professor Snape.  Draco had once been his favourite student.  That had come to an end the moment he had become aware of Draco and Harry's relationship.  Now it was as likely for Slytherin to lose points in Potions as it was for Gryffindor.  Strangely enough this had united the seventh year students and the Slytherins and the Gryffindors were becoming friends and as a result working together was no longer a problem.  Of course this had annoyed Snape no end because now he couldn't even force the two houses to work together to punish them.

Snape sneered at them all.

"Today we are going to make a very complex potion and you will all need to concentrate and listen carefully to ensure you don't ruin it.  The ingredients are…" Snape listed off the ingredients and the students scribbled them down.  

Hermione gasped.  Draco's head snapped up and he stared at Ron and Hermione who were sitting in front of Harry and Draco.  No one else appeared to have heard her.  Draco glanced over at Ron.  The redhead was obviously daydreaming as he drew little hearts around Hermione's name on his parchment.  Hermione clearly knew what they were about to concoct.  Draco wondered why Snape didn't just tell them what it was like he usually did.  Although it wouldn't surprise Draco if Snape was going to spring something nasty on them.  It had been a while since Snape had been able to cause any distress to the students.  Usually he was able to do this by pairing the students with someone they did not get along with.  Now that they all got along Snape was obviously looking for new ways to antagonise the students.  It had come as a surprise to Draco that Snape was actually that vindictive, but since he and Harry had gotten together and Snape now treated him with the same contempt as he treated Harry, Draco had come to realise that there was no rhyme or reason to Snape's behaviour.  A low hum of activity was heard as the class began collecting their ingredients and getting their equipment ready.

"Hermione, what are we making?" Draco asked curiously.  Hermione looked cagey.

"You'll find out soon enough," she replied, although she looked a little concerned about the nature of the potion.  This does not bode well, thought Draco ominously.


	6. Spiteful Snape

~ Potions ~

The seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins were fairly quiet while preparing their ingredients.  Draco was gently stirring the bubbling potion in the cauldron as Harry sliced the pixie lungs.  Harry reached for a sharper knife and sent some of the diced sea slug to the floor.  Harry swore under his breath and bent down to scoop them up.  Looking down at the floor he noticed a folded piece of parchment.  He picked it up and turned it over.  It had his name written on it in Draco's handwriting.  Harry grinned, Draco had written him a letter.  Harry slipped it in his pocket to be enjoyed later.  He straightened up and dropped the sea slugs on the bench.  All too soon the final ingredients had been added and the potion was softly simmering.

"When your potion is translucent it is ready to consume," instructed Snape.  "Then pour it into two glasses and drink it."  

Draco and Harry clinked their glasses together and drank it down at the same time.  Harry felt an icy sensation in his chest which gradually abated.  Snape stood at the front of the room smiling triumphantly.  Once all the students had drunk the potion, he clapped his hands to gain their attention.

"The potion you prepared and just consumed is Veritaserum…"

Horrified gasps could be heard around the room.

"…with a strength rating of 7 which means it will last for 24 hours before wearing off.  Dismissed."  With those final words, Snape turned and strode over to his desk.  He sat down, put his feet up on his desk and watched the shocked students with a decidedly evil grin.   

Ron turned to face Hermione.  "You knew, didn't you!" he yelled accusingly.  "You knew and you didn't tell us or try to stop us taking it."  The rest of the class watched in stunned silence.  It surprised none of them that Hermione had known what the potion was but it came as a real shock that she hadn't said anything or objected to Snape forcing students to drink the truth-telling potion.  None of them, not even the Slytherins, was sure this was entirely ethical.

"Yes I knew!" Hermione exploded.  "I let you drink it because I wanted to ask you a few things – like what you were doing last night when you snuck out of the dorm!  I was in the common room and I saw you sneak out through the portrait hole.  Where did you go?"  Ron gulped.

"I went to meet Lavender in the charms classroom," Ron turned bright red as he unsuccessfully tried to fight the potion.  Hermione let out a furious scream.

"I knew it, I knew you were with that tramp!" Hermione said self-righteously.

"Hey!" Lavender said indignantly.  

"Shut up, you slut and keep your hands off my boyfriend!" Hermione said threateningly.  

Harry looked stunned, he'd never known Hermione could be so profane or possessive.  It just goes to show, no matter how well you know someone you never know what's really going on inside their head.

"Look, Hermione, I can explain," Ron started to say before being cut off by his irate girlfriend.

"There's nothing to explain.  You cheated on me.  You bastard!" Hermione's eyes were bright with unshed tears that she was trying valiantly to control.  Betrayal was clearly written across her face.

The rest of the class backed out of the room.  Harry grabbed Lavender and dragged her out with the rest of them.  It was obvious to everyone that Hermione was just itching for an all out war with Ron, it was why she hadn't said anything when she'd realised what the potion was.  No one wanted to be caught in the cross-fire.  The other Gryffindors and Slytherins drifted towards the Great Hall for lunch, most fighting along the way as unspoken thoughts found their way out of their mouths.  

Amazingly, Seamus seemed unaffected by the potion.  Harry assumed it was due to the fact that he was always so alarmingly honest that they couldn't see the difference.  

Dean was agonising over what was going to happen at lunch as he was going to sit with Ginny, who had not taken the potion, due to the fact that she was in the year below them.  

"It's going to be terrible," Dean moaned.   "I'm going to be forced to tell the truth while she won't."

"Don't worry, Dean" Seamus replied, sounding a bit amused.  "I'll sit with you and ask you really embarrassing questions and then she won't get a chance to ask you anything."  

Dean moaned again, knowing very well that Seamus would do just that.

Pavarti was trying in vain to assure Lavender that she wasn't a slut.  Unfortunately, that was the general consensus around the school and Pavarti couldn't lie.  

"Okay, so maybe everyone thinks you are a slut, but look at it this way, if Draco Malfoy can change, so can you," Pavarti said in what she hoped was a soothing tone.  "You just need to maybe, not meet guys all over the castle and maybe not sleep with them on the first date.  That's all."

Draco caught Harry's hand and held him back from the group.  

"Harry, I don't think we should see each other for 24 hours.  I don't want to end up fighting like everyone else is."  Draco honestly didn't want that to happen to them and he knew that if they did spend time together, then the truth would come out whether he wanted it to or not.  Damn Snape!  

"What are you hiding, Drac?" Harry asked hesitantly, not entirely sure he wanted to know.  Draco clapped his hand over his mouth before the truth could spill out.  The blond boy turned and ran for his life.  Harry stood stunned, staring after his beloved boyfriend, before taking off after him.


	7. Confrontation

~ Beside The Lake ~

Harry finally caught up with Draco out by the lake, ironically the site of their last confrontation.  He grabbed Draco's arm and pulled the struggling Slytherin into his arms.  

"Know that whatever it is, I love you and nothing will ever change that," Harry said softly in Draco's ear.  Draco stopped struggling and held Harry tightly.  He wanted so desperately to believe what Harry was saying.  Although he knew Harry was compelled to tell the truth and that Harry obviously believed what he was saying, he wasn't so sure that something might change Harry's feelings for him.  Harry pulled away slightly so he could look into his lover's silver eyes.  

"Tell me," Harry said simply.  Draco's face contorted as he fought the potion.

"I can't," he managed to spit out.  "Please don't make me."

"I want to help you, Drac." Harry replied, privately marvelling at Draco's ability to fight the effects of the Veritaserum.

"I DON'T WANT YOUR HELP.  I CAN HANDLE THIS ON MY OWN!" Draco shouted as he pushed Harry away and turned to angrily face the lake.

"But you don't have to handle this on your own.  Draco, we are in this together.  Please tell me what's going on," Harry pleaded with him.

Draco dropped to the ground.  He lay back and closed his eyes.  There was no point running anymore.  Harry wasn't going to let this go until he knew everything.  Damn Snape!  He felt, rather than saw, Harry sit down beside him.  Draco sat back up and turned to face Harry.

"My father is attempting to become the new Dark Lord," he said dully.  

Harry gasped in shock and horror.  

"I say attempting," Draco continued, "because he will never succeed.  His plans get more ludicrous and convoluted everyday.  He actually believes he can take over where Voldemort left off."  Draco laughed mirthlessly.  "He's gathering support from the Death Eaters and he wants, no, he's demanding I join him when I graduate.  At the moment we have something of a deal.  I go along with his plans and he allows you to live.  That's pretty much everything I've been keeping from you. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel like you had to save me.  I'm not one of your charity cases."

Harry sat motionless as he processed all this information at once.  He felt sick as he played back Draco's words in his head.  Now the argument they'd had out here by the lake was starting to make sense.  Draco was trying to protect him.  While that thought made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, it also worried him.  He didn't want Draco to put himself at risk for him.  

"Is that the only reason you don't want to live with me after graduation?" Harry asked quietly.

"Yes," Draco replied earnestly.  "I would love to live with you and be with you everyday, but I can't.  I have to stay at the Manor."

"Draco, love, I can take care of myself.  I defeated Voldemort, for god's sake.  I think I can handle your father if he comes after me," Harry said, while grasping Draco's hand and squeezing it reassuringly.  

"But if I do, he'll disown me.  The only reason he's tolerating our relationship now is because he's using it to blackmail me," Draco said pessimistically.

"I don't understand, Draco.  You always ridiculed your father.  Why are you now worried that he might disown you?"  Harry asked, genuinely confused.

"If he disowns me, then he'll cut off my allowance!" Draco said, in a horrified tone of voice.  Harry chuckled.  

"Draco, I have plenty of money, and besides, you are one of the top students in our year, I'm sure you're going to get a great job that pays well," Harry said, amused.  

Draco stared solemnly at Harry for a moment.  "I guess you're right.  I don't need him.  I can make it on my own."  

Draco suddenly grinned.  "I'll show him! I'll write a tell-all book about the Malfoy family!"  

Harry laughed with him and then became more serious.  "Great idea.  Listen, Draco, there's something that's been bothering me for a while.  I want you to know that I love you.  I'm in love you."  

Draco's eyes widened as did his grin.  He launched himself onto Harry and ended up lying on top of the startled but uncomplaining Gryffindor.

"I love you too, Harry.  I adore you.  I want to be with you forever!" Draco declared dramatically.  As Harry wrapped his arms around Draco an idea had occurred to him.  

"Draco – Marry me!" Harry said urgently.  Draco stared down at Harry and then slid off his lover and stood up.  Harry got to his feet anxiously.

"Are you sure?  You're not doing this just so I won't go home to my father after graduation, are you? Because that's not a good enough reason." Draco asked guardedly.  

Harry smiled sweetly and framed Draco's face with his hands.  "I. Love. You. I want to be with you forever too.  Can you think of a better way to let the world know that?"


	8. Secrets Revealed

~ Herbology ~

When Harry finally made it to Herbology, only a couple of minutes late, he found the rest of the seventh year Gryffindors in various states of distress.  Harry himself was radiantly happy.  Draco had accepted his proposal and they had decided to get married a week after they had graduated.  The Hufflepuffs were equally sympathetic and horrified.  They had potions the next day with the Ravenclaws and both houses were praying that Snape didn't have the same lesson planned for them.  They were working outside today, in the herb garden.  This meant that the Gryffindors were able to talk quietly to each other as they weeded the garden.  Ron was viciously digging his trowel into the dirt and Hermione looked heartbroken as Seamus filled Harry in on what had happened at lunch.

"As soon as we got to the Great Hall, Dean dragged Ginny away somewhere so I couldn't embarrass him.  We'll have to make him tell us what happened while he's still under the influence of the Veritaserum.  Lavender disappeared also.  I think she went to the tower to change because when she finally joined us, she'd changed her image to what you see now."

Lavender had her hair pulled back into a severe McGonagall-esque bun, her face was scrubbed clean of the make up she religiously wore everyday.  She was working hard at weeding the garden over by Professor Sprout.  The most amazing thing was how serious she was.  She would normally be giggling and gossiping with Pavarti, but although Pavarti was working near her, neither girl was speaking.

"So I sat with Nev, here, and we had a good old chat about his love life and let me tell you, I got the shock of the century!  I pride myself on being unshockable, but this got to me,' Seamus said as he continued to inform Harry of the Gryffindor gossip.  "You will never guess who Neville is in love with?  Totally gaga for, head over heels in lust with.  Go on, guess!"

Neville had by this stage turned bright red and was desperately trying to ignore the conversation in the hope that Seamus would forget it.  Unfortunately for Neville that was never going to happen.  This was juicy gossip at it's best and Seamus would not be content until the entire school knew.  Harry scrunched up his face in mock concentration.

"Pansy?"

"Not even close, but I will give you a hint – you've got the right house."

"So, a Slytherin then.  You've got good taste, Neville," Harry joked.  "Millicent?"

"No.  Right house, wrong gender."

"Oh!  Goyle?"

"No, he's a little older than Goyle."

"But Goyle is a seventh year, there's no one older than…..oh my god…..you don't mean…."  Harry had turned faintly green and looked nauseous.

"I think we have a winner!" Seamus said excitedly.  "I had the same reaction myself.  But it does explain why Neville's Potions grades are always so bad.  He's so distracted by our sexy professor that he can't think clearly enough to brew the potions properly!"  

Neville was clearly mortified and wouldn't meet Harry's eyes.  The rest of the class had already had time to process this information as Seamus was blurting it out wherever he went.  Harry was glad he had missed lunch by talking to Draco down by the lake.  He doubted he would have been able to keep it down.

"Neville, he's old enough to be your father!" Harry said, scandalised.

"I know," Neville whimpered, "I can't help it.  There's just something about him."

"So, Harry, you were looking mighty pleased with yourself when you finally decided to turn up for our lesson.  What happened with Draco?  Anything naughty?"  Seamus asked, apparently bored with Neville's predicament finally.  Harry grinned.

"I proposed to Draco and he accepted!" Harry said jubilantly, unable to stop himself from bouncing on the spot.

"Oh, Harry! That's wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed, pushing her grief aside as she hugged her best friend.

"Congratulations," Ron said as he shook Harry's hand.  Harry wouldn't let go of Ron's hand and grabbed Hermione's hand with his free hand.

"Now, what's going on with you two?" he asked, determined to get to the bottom of their misery.  Hermione held back a sob as she started explaining what had happened after the rest of the class had left the Potions dungeon.  

"Ron wasn't sleeping with Lavender, he asked her to help him choose a birthday gift for me, that was why he didn't tell anyone, not even you.  He wanted it to be a surprise and I ruined it.  I can't believe I actually thought Ron would cheat on me.  I should have had more faith in him and I'm so sorry.  I feel terrible."

Ron still looked angry but also wretched because Hermione was so upset.  Harry looked at each of his best friends.

"Ron, Hermione has told us how she feels.  Now it's your turn.  We are not leaving this herb garden until you two sort this out.  I've never seen either of you so happy as when you were together and now that you're apart, you're both miserable.  Ron, tell us what you feel about this."

"I am angry that she thought I would rather be with someone else than with her."  Ron turned to face Hermione who had silent tears coursing down her face.  "I love you more than anything in the world, Hermione.  I would rather die than hurt you but you've hurt me.  You honestly thought I would sleep with someone else?  I just wanted to find the perfect gift for you to show you how much you mean to me but I don't know much about that sort of thing.  I guess I should have trusted my instincts but I wanted a female's opinion and Lavender happened to be around at the time.  I'm sorry that you were hurt when you saw us together but nothing happened and nothing ever would.  I love you and only you. I can't live without you."

Hermione threw her arms around Ron, knowing it was his way of saying that he forgave her.

"I love you too.  I'm sorry I didn't trust you.  It will never happen again."  Hermione and Ron kissed as the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs cheered.  Ron and Hermione were one of the cutest couples in the whole school and no one wanted to see them fight, particularly since they both had pretty bad tempers and they involved the entire school when they did fight.


	9. Draco's Letter

~ The Great Hall ~

Harry sat amid his friends as they ate dinner, half listening to Dean telling the story of how Ginny made him tell her exactly what he really thought of her, which was that she was incredibly sexy and that he was falling in love with her.  It was all very cute but Harry was about to throw up if anyone else declared their undying love for someone.  He was happy for his friends but he was a little worried about Draco.  His lover had not come in for dinner and Harry's concerned eyes kept straying towards the Slytherin table.  

About ten minutes later Harry noticed Draco slip into the Great Hall and sit down at the end of the Slytherin table.  He winked at Harry and turned his head towards the teacher's table.  Harry followed his gaze and was startled to see Dumbledore standing before them, waiting to speak.  Soon the hall was silent.

"It is not often that I have the pleasure of making such an announcement but today two of our students got engaged to be married.  Those students are Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.  I wish them a lifetime of happiness together."  

Dumbledore started clapping and the entire school joined in.  Harry's shocked eyes snapped over to Draco who was grinning delightedly.  So that's where he had been all afternoon, chatting with Dumbledore.

"Harry, look at Snape!" Ron said, nudging Harry with his elbow.  Harry turned to see what Ron was going on about.  The Potions professor looked like he was going to have a fit.  His plan had obviously backfired, as all the students, but especially Harry and Draco, had ended up having a great day, rather than the miserable one Snape had intended.  Snape's face was contorted in shocked fury, which he masked only moments before Dumbledore turned around to return to his seat.

~ Gryffindor Boys Dorm ~

Later that night, Harry lay in his bed listening to the gentle snores of his roommates.  He had found Draco's letter in his pocket when he had changed into his pyjamas but he wanted to wait until he wouldn't be interrupted before reading it.  He still had an hour before he was to meet Draco in the Astronomy Tower.  With a whispered 'Lumos' Harry unfolded several pieces of parchment and started reading.  

_Dear Harry,_

_I know things have been strained between us recently and I know you are wondering why.  Please trust me when I say that it is all for the best.  There are some things that even you, Wonder Boy, can't change.  I'm handling the situation the best way I know how and all you have to worry about is what delightful things you are going to do to me with your talented tongue.  God, I'm getting hard just thinking about it…_

_What was I writing about?  You have a way of pushing all rational thought out of my head.  I need to be near you.  It would be enough just to hold you in my arms and feel your arms around me.  I wish we could spend a whole night together.  I want to wake up with you beside me.  God, wouldn't that be something!  I could watch you sleep and gently brush your hair off your face.  You know, I've never seen you sleep.  Our meetings are always in clandestine places and always far too short.  Your idea of living together is not without merit.  At least we would be together without having to sneak back to a dorm full of teenage boys._

_Have I ever told you how much I love your eyes?  So expressive, so pure.  Your eyes truly are the windows to your soul.  Sometimes I don't think I deserve to be with you.  You are so full of the light and I am being dragged kicking and screaming into the dark.  When I start thinking like that it makes me wonder how we ever got together in the first place.  I still remember our first kiss – do you?  We had detention together in the Potions dungeon.  I was going on and on about how I couldn't believe that Snape had given his star student a detention although secretly I knew I deserved it, after all I had taunted him just enough so he would give us both detention but not enough that Slytherin would lose house points.  You told me to shut up or you'd make me shut up.  How? I challenged gleefully.  You're so hot when you're pissed off.  Then you kissed me.  I was so shocked at first that I couldn't move, let alone respond.  Then my instincts took over and I kissed you back.  Needless to say, no cauldrons were cleaned that night.  Well, not manually anyway.  Thank god for magic.  And we were so out of breath when Snape returned that he never suspected that we hadn't done the job as he'd intended.  _

_So many memories.  One of my favourites is when the entire school became aware of our relationship.  We'd barely been 'together' for a week when I noticed you walking towards the Slytherin table in the Great Hall.  You had that look in your eye, that predatory you're-mine look.  I love that look.  It makes me melt.  Anyway, you were walking towards me and suddenly you winked at me.  I got the message loud and clear as I struggled to keep from grinning insanely.  I stood up and walked towards you.  All heads swivelled towards us, spoonfuls of cereal frozen in mid air.  The tension was palpable but little did they know it was sexual tension.  I'm sure everyone though we were going to duel, right there in front of the teachers and Dumbledore.  We gave them the shock of their lives when you pulled me into a long passionate kiss.  I purposely allowed you to pull me into the kiss, I didn't want anyone later accusing me of forcing myself onto you.  I wanted the entire school, hell, I wanted the whole world to know that Harry Potter wanted me of his own free will.  _

_To be perfectly honest, I was surprised how long it took Ron and Hermione to accept us.  I didn't think we would ever be friends but I thought they would support you in anything you did.  After all, you are their best friend, and, well, I won't mention that nickname you hate so much, let's just say you are not dead.  It really did surprise me that Ron, Hermione and I eventually became friends.  I think Hermione is a calming influence on Ron, which helped.  I'm glad, because I know it wouldn't have been fun for you if your boyfriend and your best friends were constantly at each other's throats.  _

_You take my breath away, Harry.  You give me reason to keep on going, to never give up hope.  After everything that has happened to you in your life (I want to kill those muggles you live with), you still view the world through rose tinted glasses, ever the optimist.  I envy your ability to shrug off the world's expectations and live your life your way.  I hope you know how much you mean to me and what I would do to protect you.  I love you._

_Love always,_

_Draco_

Harry furiously blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.  To hell with it, he thought, no one can see.  He allowed the tears to flow freely as he stared down at the blurring words written lovingly by his beloved boyfriend.  Draco could be so sweet when he wanted to be.  Draco had written this letter before they took the Veritaserum, meaning that his ambiguous words, which now had meaning, were never meant to be literally understood.  If it weren't for Snape and that potion, Harry would probably never have known the truth about Lucius and Draco's little deal. 

The memories described by Draco had come rushing back.  They had been so caught up in the day to day act of living that they had forgotten the fun, hedonistic early days of their relationship.  That had to change.  Their recent seriousness was not really in character for them.  Harry prepared for his meeting with Draco, thinking over what he was going to say to him.


	10. Preparing To Shock

~ Astronomy Tower ~

Draco stood staring out at the stars.  He heard Harry enter the tower but didn't turn around.  He sighed contentedly as he felt his lover standing close behind him.  

"Mars is bright tonight," Draco said in mock seriousness, bringing back memories of their first year at Hogwarts.

"Oh shut up, you" Harry retorted playfully.  

Draco turned around and noticed something in Harry's hand.

"What's this?" Draco said, reaching for the parchment in Harry's right hand.  Harry let it go as Draco grasped it.  Draco turned it over and was shocked to see his own handwriting on it.  

"Where did you get this?" he asked curiously, it was the letter he knew he hadn't sent.  He handed it back to Harry, who pushed it into his pocket.

"I found it on the floor in Potions this morning.  It had my name on it so I put it in my pocket.  I read it tonight after dinner.  I hope you don't mind," Harry said softly.  "I loved it.  I don't know if you've noticed, but we haven't been like we used to be for a while now.  I mean apart from this morning at breakfast, after I got that letter from Sirius, we haven't done anything remotely flashy or shockable in weeks.  Well, actually considering how often we kiss around here, it probably wasn't that shocking.  But anyway, your letter got me thinking…we really need to do something big, something that no one has ever done before, at least not to my knowledge."

"And what, pray tell, do you suggest we do to shock the sensibilities of the school community?" Draco drawled.  "I think we've just about done everything we can to scandalize everyone."

Harry smiled shrewdly.  "I think we can kill two birds with one stone," he said smugly.  Draco didn't look as impressed as he'd hoped.

"We're going to kill birds – with stones?  That's not very Griffindor-ish.  I'm may be a Slytherin but even I draw the line at that.  That's just cruel," Draco said, stunned that Harry would suggest such a thing.

"We're not actually going to kill birds, Draco.  It's a muggle saying.  It means we can accomplish two things with one action.  You said in this letter that you wanted to watch me sleep, which is really sweet in a vaguely disturbing way.  So what I'm suggesting is that we have a sleepover," Harry stared expectantly at Draco.  The blond turned the idea over in his mind.  A sleepover, obviously one of them would sleep in their rival house dorm.  It was a deliciously illicit plan made all the more enticing by the fact that the lovers would be able to spend the entire night together.  Draco grinned.

"I love it.  So, my dorm or yours, lover?" he asked, arching his eyebrow suggestively.  Harry grinned back.

"I think your dorm has the most shock value, don't you?  A Gryffindor in the Slytherin dorms! Besides, the guys in my dorm really wouldn't care."

"What are we waiting for?  Let's go get your stuff!" Draco said enthusiastically.  

"I'm way ahead of you," Harry replied merrily, pointing to his bag near the door.  Draco picked up Harry's bag, grabbed Harry's hand and dragged the dark-haired boy down the stairs.

~ Slytherin Boys Dorm ~

The rest of the Slytherins were all asleep as Harry quietly put his bag down at the foot of Draco's bed.  Draco was staring at him with a strange expression on his face.  Harry shot him a questioning look but Draco shook his head and pointed at the bed.  Harry nodded and both boys undressed quickly down to their boxer shorts, which they left on.  Draco crawled into his bed and shifted over to make room for Harry.  Harry leapt up onto the bed and snuggled next to Draco.  Both boys sighed happily as they lay in each other's arms finally in the warmth and comfort of an actual bed.  It was a totally new experience for them.

"So why were you looking at me so strangely before?" Harry whispered in Draco's ear.

"I've often imagined you here with me, but I never really believed it could happen but now, here you are," Draco replied softly.  He pressed his lips against Harry's temple.  "Go to sleep, love, we have a big day tomorrow – dealing with the fallout of this little stunt."  

Harry turned his head and kissed Draco.  Both boys snuggled into each other, revelling in the close contact and fell asleep.

They were rudely awoken early the next morning by Goyle's girly shrieking.  

"Ewww!  Harry's in Draco's bed.  Eww, they're naked!  Boys naked with boys, it's gross!"

"Oh please!" Draco said scathingly, "We do worse things than this fully clothed out in the halls.  Anyway, we're not naked."  He proved this by climbing out of bed.  Goyle backed away from him like he was contagious.   

"I always thought he was stupid, this just proves it," Draco muttered to Harry.  "You're not going to catch anything," he said mockingly in Goyle's direction.  

"Yeah, Goyle," chimed in Crabbe.  "You're either gay or you're not.  Dumb git."

Harry and Draco both hid looks of surprise.  It was the first intelligent thing they'd ever heard Crabbe say.  But then he hardly ever said anything anyway.  Maybe there was more to Crabbe than met the eye.  

Harry gathered his toiletries and followed Draco towards the bathroom.  Goyle immediately started squealing again.

"They're going to shower together, ewww.  I don't want to see that."

"So stay out of the bathroom until they're finished," Crabbe said derisively as he turned back towards his bed.  

~ Slytherin Boys Bathroom ~

Harry and Draco had shed their boxers and were sharing a shower cubicle.  Rather awkwardly actually.  They weren't really built for two but they adjusted to it.  A year of making do with whatever out-of-the-way place they could find to be together in had made them adaptable.  Harry moved forward, forcing Draco to back into the wall.  Harry gently but firmly grasped Draco's wrists and held them up above the blond boys head.  Harry's tongue duelled with Draco's as his hands slid down Draco's arms to his chest.  His hands moved over Draco, caressing his waist and moving around to his back.  Draco's arms slipped down around Harry's neck and he buried his fingers in Harry's unruly black hair.  Draco moaned as Harry's lips started a feverish trail of hot kisses along Draco's jaw to his neck.

"AHEM."

Harry pulled reluctantly away from Draco and looked around to see who was interrupting them now.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Potter?" Snape asked in that quietly evil way of his.

"Draco," Harry replied simply.


	11. The Boy Who Lived To Shock

~ Slytherin Boys Bathroom ~

Draco laughed at the startled expression on Snape's face.  Harry smiled politely at Snape and the growing crowd of Slytherin students – both male and female.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm a bit busy here."  Harry turned back to Draco.  "Now where was I? Ah, that's right.  I believe your hands were in my hair and my lips were on your delectable neck."  He smiled cheekily at Draco as he moved towards him.  He was about to kiss his blond lover when Snape exploded, unfortunately not literally.

"THAT'S IT! BOTH OF YOU OUT HERE NOW!" Snape screamed, a vain throbbing on his forehead.  Harry and Draco exchanged worried glances.  This was more than they had bargained for.  Harry passed Draco a towel and then wrapped one around his waist.  They both stepped out of the shower cubicle amid catcalls and appreciative whistling.  Snape silenced them with a look.

"All of you out.  Back to your dorms.  Get ready for breakfast.  Potter, Malfoy.  Follow me."  With that Snape turned on his heel and strode out of the bathroom.  Harry and Draco followed after him, clutching at their towels.  Unfortunately many students from all four houses were making their way to breakfast and pointed and giggled as the two of them hurried after Snape.  

"Professor Snape, what is going on here?"  Professor McGonagall snapped, eyeing the practically naked boys suspiciously.  

"I'm going to see Professor Dumbledore about this matter right now as a matter of fact.  You may join us if you wish," Snape said coldly as he continued walking.  Professor McGonagall fell in with the odd group and they soon found themselves in front of the stone Gargoyle.

~ Professor Dumbledore's Office ~

Professor Dumbledore looked up in surprise to see a furious Severus, a confused Minerva and two slightly annoyed and apprehensive students.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Dumbledore asked evenly, looking at each of them.  

"I woke, this morning, to the sounds of a girl screaming in the boys dorms.  Naturally I went to investigate.  It was actually Goyle screaming but that is neither here nor there.  The point is, these two," Snape said grimly, pointing his bony finger at Harry and Draco, "were in the boys bathroom naked and kissing.  Apparently Potter spent the night in the Slytherin dorms.  In Malfoy's bed!"  Snape sounded outraged that a Gryffindor had been in the Slytherin dungeon.  

"There is no rule against students going into other houses, Severus," Dumbledore started to say.

"They were corrupting the other students," Snape insisted angrily.  McGonagall, Harry and Draco were watching the exchange as if they were at a tennis match, their heads moving from one to the other like they were following the progress of the ball.  

"They are breaking down the barriers of this ridiculous house rivalry.  Voldemort may be gone but many of his followers remain.  Their children should not be isolated," Dumbledore replied with a pointed look.  "Severus, let it go.  So many years have passed, put it behind you."

Snape shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Now as for you two," Dumbledore said, turning to Harry and Draco.  "Flaunting your relationship in the halls fully clothed is one thing, taking a shower together in a common area is another.  As I said, you have done a lot to break down barriers in this school but this is not the way to go about it.  You need to lead by example.  Not all the Slytherins and Gryffindors will fall in love like you two but they can become friends.  If you really want to sleep together, and I mean actually sleep, might I suggest the Gryffindor dorm?  At least until the Slytherins become more open minded."

The two shivering boys nodded.

"You may go now, and Harry – go straight back to Gryffindor.  I'm sure Draco will be more than happy to return your things to you later," Dumbledore said with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.

Harry and Draco, still clutching their towels, smiled back and quickly left the office.  They were amazed that they had gotten off so lightly.  Snape looked at Dumbledore with barely veiled anger.

"You're going to let them get away with it?  They should be expelled!" he spat out.

"Now, Severus, I would think after yesterday's seventh year potions lesson, you would know better than to demand that anyone be forced to leave the school. Do you know how many Howlers I received this morning? Eleven. My ears are still ringing. I have my reasons for keeping all three of you at this school. I suggest you return to your house and ensure that your students have not been corrupted."

Snape left the room, his dissatisfaction at this recent turn of events obvious to all.

"I have to say I partially agree with him, Albus. Oh, I don't think they should be expelled, but to let them get away with such behaviour and to actually encourage them to sleep together. I don't think it's right," McGonagall finally said.

"There is a reason for everything that happens, Minerva. We might not see it at first but eventually it becomes clear," Dumbledore said enigmatically. "Come, let's go to breakfast. I've been looking forward to some marmalade on toast all morning."

~ Gryffindor Common Room ~

An extremely cold and shivering Harry entered through the portrait hole to find a worried Ron and Hermione pacing around the room.  

"Oh, thank god you're okay, Harry!" she cried as she threw her arms around him.  Hermione suddenly became aware of Harry's near nakedness as she stepped back blushing wildly.

"What happened?  Did someone steal your clothes?" Ron asked curiously.  Harry looked embarrassed.

"No.  I spent the night in the Slytherin Dorm with Draco and this morning when we were taking a shower together Snape walked in on us and dragged us up to Dumbledore's office looking like this.  Dumbledore told me to come straight back here to change for breakfast.  I'll be back in a minute," Harry turned and hurried up the stairs to the boys' dorm.

"Oh.  My.  God." Hermione said, stunned.  "Did he just say what I think he just said?"

Ron nodded in shock.  Harry was going to be expelled for sure, he thought, although wouldn't Dumbledore have done it when Harry and Draco were in his office this morning?  Harry didn't seem upset, so maybe they just had a lot of detention.  Harry bounded down the stairs again to find his friends still pacing worriedly.

"What did Dumbledore say?  Did he expel you?"  Ron and Hermione asked immediately.

"No he didn't.  He didn't punish us at all, just said that next time we should sleep in my dorm," Harry said thankfully.  

"That's weird," said Ron pensively.

"Well, he said it's not a against the rules to go into other house common rooms.  I guess most people don't know that," Harry replied.

"But why bother with the passwords and portraits then if everyone is allowed in?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," replied Harry exasperatedly.  He was starving and wanted to go down to breakfast but these two insisted on picking on the details.  "I guess you're not allowed in unless you're invited.  Let's go to breakfast."

Harry turned and left the common room with the other two close behind him, still discussing the strangeness of a school headmaster condoning such conduct of his students.


	12. Lord Of The Rings

~ Hogsmeade ~

Harry and Draco were wandering hand in hand around Hogsmeade.  They had already been to Zonko's and Honeyduke's and were now making their way towards the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer.  Suddenly, Draco dragged Harry into a brightly lit store.  Draco dropped Harry's hand and stepped over to a glass counter.  Harry looked around.  They were in a jewellery store.  Why on earth had Draco dragged him in here?  Then Harry grinned.  He knew exactly why Draco had been in such a hurry to come to Hogsmeade this weekend.  They were engaged but neither of them had a ring to prove it.  

"Harry, come over here.  Look at this," Draco called to him, holding a silvery ring.  Harry walked over and allowed Draco to take his hand and slid it on his finger.

"What do you think?" Draco asked.

"Why silver? Why not gold?" Harry asked, holding his hand out to stare critically at the ring.

"It's not silver, it's platinum.  And those stones are not crystals, they're emeralds, in case you were wondering," Draco said in a teasingly condescending tone.  

"Okay, why platinum?" Harry tried again.

"Platinum is better than gold.  Nothing but the best," Draco said, turning back to the sales assistant.  "It's perfect.  The line of emeralds across the top matches his eyes perfectly."

"It is perfect.  Do you have another one?" Harry asked as he took off the ring and handed it to the assistant.  Draco turned towards Harry in surprise.

"Why do you want another one?  That one should fit.  They are made to magically conform to your finger," Draco said, mystified by Harry's question.

"For you, my dragon.  Matching rings, so everyone knows you're mine," Harry grinned at Draco who cupped Harry's face gently with his hands.

"I think everyone already knows I'm yours," he whispered before gently kissing Harry.  Draco pulled away reluctantly, his expression one of deep abiding love as his fingers caressing Harry's cheeks.

"We'll take two of that ring, thank you," Draco said, back to business as he turned back to the mildly embarrassed sales assistant.  She hurried off to get the matching ring, leaving the one Harry had tried on lying on the counter.  Draco picked it up and twirled it between his fingers.  He turned to Harry, looking serious.

"Harry, will you marry me?"  Draco asked, his eyes shining brightly as he slid the ring back onto Harry's finger.  Harry smiled gently.

"Yes," Harry replied simply as he pulled his blond lover to him in a fierce hug.  

"Stay with me tonight," he whispered in Draco's ear.  Draco emotionally murmured something unintelligible and kissed Harry's neck.  Harry took that as a yes.

~ Gryffindor Common Room ~

Harry and Draco waltzed into the Gryffindor common room that night like they owned the place.  The rest of the Gryffindors stared at them as Harry dropped into an armchair and pulled Draco onto his lap.  

Finally Hermione found her voice.  "Uh, Harry?  What do you think you're doing?"

"Sitting with my fiancé, why?" Harry replied, looking unconcerned by the utterly silent common room.

"Harry, he's a Slytherin," Hermione pointed out the glaringly obvious.

"He's also sitting right here," Draco said, proving that he too could point out what was exceedingly obvious to all in the room.

"Which he shouldn't be," Hermione shot back at Draco.

"Dumbledore said there were no rules about students visiting other houses," Harry reminded Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindors who were shamelessly eavesdropping.  

"But….but…." Hermione sputtered, apparently having no argument against Dumbledore.

"But but…" Draco prompted Hermione, grinning wickedly.  "Sit down, Hermione and look at the rings we bought today," Draco said warmly, indicating the armchair next to his and Harry's.  Hermione dropped into the chair, looking a little put out that she hadn't been able to continue the argument.  Never mind, she thought, Ron will be here soon.

"Show me your rings then," Hermione demanded.  Harry and Draco held their hands out to be inspected by Hermione and the few Gryffindors still listening to their conversation.

"They're beautiful.  Why did you get identical rings?  I would have thought you'd get different ones, like a dragon on Harry's ring and a lightening bolt on Draco's ring, you know so you could both be reminded of each other," Hermione said curiously.

"Oh please!" Draco scoffed.  "How common is that?  Like we need to be reminded who we are engaged to!  This way, everyone knows that we belong together."

"Okay, okay," Hermione said soothingly.  Where on earth is Ron? she thought a touch desperately, I could do with a trivial formulaic argument right about now.  Hermione turned in her chair to face the fire.  Draco was currently sticking his tongue in Harry's ear and it was something she felt she could live without witnessing.  

Harry giggled as Draco licked and sucked Harry's earlobe, "That tickles, Drac."

"It's supposed to turn you on," Draco whispered in his lover's ear, his fingers tangled in Harry's hair.  

"Oh…it is…" Harry said a bit breathlessly.  "Let's go up to bed."

"I thought you'd never ask," Draco said sweetly as he jumped up out of the armchair and smiled brightly at all those still studiously studying in the common room.  Harry took Draco's hand and they ran up into the boys' dorm.


	13. You Know Who??

~ Gryffindor Common Room ~

Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindors stared in shock as the two young lovers ran up the stairs to the seventh year boys' room.  Ron stepped into the common room with a smile on his face and a song in his heart.  The smile slowly faded as he surveyed the once again silent common room.

"What's going on?" he asked, feeling left out of something huge.  Hermione turned to face him with wide eyes.

"I don't think you should go upstairs for a while.  Come and sit down here with me," she said, holding out her hand.  Ron placed his hand in hers and allowed her to direct him into the armchair recently vacated by Harry and Draco.

"What??" Ron asked exasperatedly.  "Why can't I go up to my room?"

"Er…Harry's up there and he's…a little busy, right now," Hermione replied vaguely.

"That's okay, I need to talk to him anyway," Ron said, standing up.  Hermione, still holding his hand, tugged him back down into his seat.

"No, he's busy," she said, a little more forcefully this time.  "With you know who."

"You Know Who?" Ron paled but bravely jumped to his feet, "I thought he was dead!  What are you sitting down here for? Let's go help Harry!"

~ Seventh Year Gryffindor Boys Room ~

Ron burst into the room with his wand out ready for action.  His eyes darted around the room searching for his best friend and the baddest bad guy in the wizarding world.  He sighed with relief and lowered his wand as he spied Harry's dark head in Harry's bed.  Suddenly it became apparent that Harry was not alone.  Ron saw a body move in the shadows of the room and without thinking for his own safety, Ron dashed forward, frantically shouting "Stupefy!"

The person in the shadows fell to the floor with a satisfying thump.  Ron grinned and looked over at Harry.  He was startled to see Harry looked horrified.  But he had just saved Harry from V…You Know Who.  He was a hero.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Ron?" Harry asked furiously.

"I…I saved you.  From Vo…You Know Who!" Ron protested.  In the year since Voldemort had been vanquished, Ron had come closer to saying his name but still couldn't.  It was a hard habit to break.

"What?  That wasn't Voldemort! That was Draco.  You just knocked out the man I love!" Harry said angrily as he got out of bed to see if Draco was all right.  Draco was lying on the floor with his head at a curious angle against the wall.  A trickle of blood from where his head connected with the wall was making its way down the stones.  Harry swore and grabbed his wand as Ron stood still in shock.  So it was the other you know who that Hermione meant Harry was 'busy' with.  Oops, Ron thought miserably.  Harry would probably never forgive him for this.  

Hermione almost fell through the doorway to the boys' room.  Ron had thoughtfully left the door wide open.  Hermione's eagle eyes took in Ron's ashamed, distressed expression, Draco's prone form still lying on the floor and Harry kneeling over him, tears falling down his face as he desperately pleaded with the blond boy to wake up.  Hermione strode past Ron, to where Draco lay.  Harry jumped when he felt Hermione's hand on his shoulder as she knelt beside him.

"He won't wake up," he said desolately.  "I tried to _enervate _him, but he must have hit his head hard because he won't wake up, even with the stunning spell off him."

"We'll have to take him to the Hospital Wing," Hermione said gently, pulling her wand out of her pocket.  She conjured a stretcher underneath Draco and levitated it in front of her.  Harry still clung to Draco's hand as he and Hermione followed the stretcher out of the room.  Ron was still rooted to the spot, thoughts of self-loathing racing around in circles in his head.

~ The Hospital Wing ~

Harry was pacing up and down the waiting room as Hermione sat silently on the couch.  Madam Pomfrey had shooed them out of Draco's room and was currently calmly bandaging Draco's head.  Harry couldn't see this, however, and he was working himself up into a state about the seriousness of Draco's injuries.  Harry was making various promises to whoever was up there that if Draco was okay he would do all sorts of good things and he definitely wouldn't do all sorts of not-so-good things when Ron edged into the room.  

Harry glared at him but did not stop pacing.  Hermione stood up and held out her arms.  Ron gratefully stepped into them taking comfort from the loving hug from his girlfriend.  Harry continued to glare at both of them, but he had stopped pacing.

"Hermione?  What are you doing?  He did that to Draco.  It's his fault that Drac's in there fighting for his life."  Harry's voice broke.  Hermione pulled back from Ron but did not move from his side.

"Draco is going to be fine, stop overreacting," she said firmly.

"I'm not overreacting!" Harry said slightly hysterically.

"Of course not," Hermione said soothingly.  "But it is not Ron's fault.  It was a misunderstanding.  He thought it was Voldemort, not Draco."

"VOLDEMORT'S DEAD!  How could he have been there?" Harry practically screamed, fast approaching total hysteria.  This was his worst nightmare, Draco hurt, and he wasn't handling it very well.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Ron said softly, hanging his head.  Hermione rubbed his arm supportively and turned to Harry.

"We'll talk about this when you're calmer.  We'll go back to the common room.  Come on, Ron," Hermione and Ron turned and left the waiting room.

Harry glared at the door for a few moments after they had left then resumed pacing.  When was Madam Pomfrey going to come out and tell him Draco was fine?  Of course he's going to be fine, he thought resolutely, Draco is going to be up and about and complaining about how the hospital gown makes his skin look pasty any minute now.

Five minutes later Harry was still pacing.  Any minute now…


	14. Scream If You Want To Go Faster

~ The Hospital Wing ~

Harry stared down at his beautiful but broken blonde lover.  He sniffed loudly and blinked furiously, but the tears still fell.  Harry clasped Draco's hand in his as he sat carefully down on the bed.  With his free hand Harry ever so gently brushed his fingers along the bandage that encircled Draco's head.

"Draco, my dragon?  Please wake up.  I need you.  I love you too much.  I can't let you go now," Harry said, his voice breaking slightly.  Madam Pomfrey entered the room again and stared at Harry with sympathy tinged with annoyance.

"He's going to be fine, Mr. Potter.  Just a concussion and one hell of a headache when he wakes up," she snapped.  Harry turned to her, his eyes shining with hope.

"Are you sure?  I mean, he's not going to die?" he asked softly.

"Die?" Madam Pomfrey looked startled as she checked the Slytherin's temperature.  "Of course not!  He just knocked his head.  It didn't even crack open."  Harry jumped up off the bed and faced the school nurse.

"There was blood everywhere!"  Harry said chaotically with violent hand gestures.  "Did you give him one of those….I don't know….in the muggle world it's called a blood transfusion, you know, to replace the blood he lost.  He can't live without his blood!" 

"Calm down, Mr. Potter.  He lost hardly any blood.  He can live without that little bit," Madam Pomfrey said, frustrated by Harry's out-of-control behaviour.  "I'll be back in a while.  Call me if you need me."  With that, she left the room, muttering about students' hormones.

Harry turned back to Draco to find him staring up at him with open amusement.

"I can't live without my blood, huh?" he asked, trying to hold back his laughter.  Harry rushed over and pulled Draco into his arms.

"I was so worried about you!  And don't you dare laugh at me!  How would you have felt if it was me lying here with that thing around my head?"

"I'm sorry.  And I _know _how I would feel if you were here instead of me – remember last year, when you defeated Voldemort, you were in here for three weeks!" Draco said, resting his head on Harry's shoulder.  "How did I end up in here, anyway?  Last thing I remember is kneeling over you, about to kiss every inch of your delectable body and then nothing."  Harry pulled back and cupped Draco's face in his hands, his thumbs stroking Draco's cheeks.

"It was an accident," Harry replied, feeling magnanimous now that Draco was clearly fine.

~ Beside The Lake ~

A few weeks later, Harry and Draco were lying by the lake.  Thankfully all the snow had melted and it was a beautiful spring day.  All of the students and the staff were at the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff Quidditch match.  Harry and Draco had decided to take advantage of the fact that no one would be around to stare at them and had skipped the game.  

"So, uh, have you thought about what you're going to do after we graduate?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Oh no," Draco replied firmly, shaking his head.  "We are not having that argument again."

"What?" Harry asked innocently.  

"And don't try that innocent look with me, I know exactly how….un-innocent you really are!" Draco laughed and then groaned as Harry changed his look from innocence to the look Draco affectionately liked to call his 'sad puppy look'.  "Harry, that's not fair.  Okay, fine, just remember that you asked for it."  

Draco sat up and stared out at the lake.  "You _know_ nothing has changed, Harry.  How can you ask me that question? How can you bring up that same tired old issue?  Nothing's changed," he said flatly.

Harry was still lying back with his hands resting under his head.  He knew exactly what Draco was referring to and he knew that nothing had changed.  If it had, Draco would have told him straight away.

"I know that we've had this conversation before, my dragon, but you know that your father can't hurt me-"

"Only because I won't let him!  Drop it, Harry," Draco replied angrily.

Harry sighed deeply.  It broke his heart to see Draco looking so miserable and dejected.  

Suddenly Draco turned and straddled Harry's hips.  Draco ground his own hips into Harry's and was rewarded with a low moan.  Draco bent down and captured Harry's lips with his own.  He quickly undid the buttons on Harry's shirt and slid his hands inside to touch Harry's smooth chest, thankful that they were not wearing robes today.  

Harry pulled his hands out from under his head and buried them in Draco's milky blonde hair.  He moved his hands down so he could undo Draco's shirt too.  Draco shrugged his shirt off and pulled Harry's away from his body too.  The two half naked boys were oblivious to their surroundings as they kissed, their bare chests rubbing against each other.  

Draco imprisoned Harry's bottom lip between his teeth and sucked on it briefly before plunging his tongue into Harry's mouth.  Draco's hands grasped Harry's wrists and forced them up above his head.

"Let's see how _you_ like it," Draco whispered huskily, reminding Harry of their adventure in the shower, before Snape caught them.  Harry struggled against Draco, eager to return his hands to his lover's body, but they both knew Draco was the stronger one although Harry wasn't aware that this was due to Lucius's harsh treatment of his son.  It wasn't something Draco wanted Harry to know.  

So it was a futile struggle for Harry as Draco continued to explore Harry's body with his lips and tongue, driving Harry crazy with need.  

"Please! Draco!" Harry panted.

Draco looked up from Harry's navel to look into his eyes with amusement and desire.  "What is it, love?  What do you want? Tell me."

Harry stared back at him with raw need shining in his eyes.  Draco really didn't need him to say it, it was so obvious what he wanted but Draco felt a perverse desire to hear the words from Harry's mouth.

"I…"

"Yes?" Draco asked encouragingly, making it clear, he wasn't going to return to worshipping Harry until the dark haired man said something.

"I…I want you to suck me off," Harry finally got the words out of his mouth.  He could barely think straight after the exquisite torture Draco had put him through.

"Oh dear," Draco said regretfully.  "I don't seem to be able to reach.  Do you think, if I let you go, you could keep your hands up there out of the way until I'm done?"  

A delightfully wicked smile was playing on Draco's lips.  He knew how hard it was for Harry to lie back and do nothing.  Harry was a giver, always a giver, but Draco was going to make sure he learnt to take as well.  Harry bit his lip and nodded.  

Draco slid his hands down Harry's arms to his chest, his eyes never leaving the bright green ones staring down at him.  Draco slowly, casually even, undid Harry's belt buckle and unzipped his pants.  He pulled them down slightly and Harry whimpered but did not move as the heavy material brushed his sensitive area.  Draco grinned as he slipped his fingers under the elastic of Harry's black silk boxers (a present from Draco).  He teasingly pulled them down slowly.  Draco raised his eyes to Harry's and saw that Harry had closed his eyes tight, concentration mixed with intense desire written all over his face.  Draco grinned again and lowered his head.


	15. Draco Teaches Harry A Lesson

~ Gryffindor Seventh Year Boys' Room ~ 

"I promise I'll be good, Draco.  Really," Harry said a touch uncertainly, as if he wasn't sure if he could keep his promise.  He was standing in the doorway to his own bedroom.  Draco was standing by Harry's bed, looking at him expectantly.

"You know what happened last time, Harry.  It's about time you learnt some control but obviously you can't do it yourself, so we need reinforcements.  Come on, lie down," Draco said determinedly, knowing that for all his good intentions Harry wouldn't be able to keep his promise.

Harry sighed and looked away.  It didn't appear that Draco was going to back down any time soon.  Time to bring out the big guns, he thought as he looked back at Draco.

"Oh, no.  That is not going to work this time.  This is for your own good," Draco said, crossing his arms as he stared impassively at Harry's very best sad puppy look.  

Damn, Harry thought, he's not affected by it.  

Draco, meanwhile, was wavering, he didn't want his Harry to be sad.  No, Draco thought, be strong.  This is for Harry.  He'll enjoy it when we get started.

"Why?" Harry asked plaintively.

"Last week during the Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw Quidditch match.  Do you remember what we were doing?" Draco asked.

"We were by the lake," Harry replied, smiling slightly at the memory.

"Yes.  By the lake.  And do you remember what you asked me to do?" Draco asked patiently.

"I asked you to suck me off," Harry grinned widely as he remembered that delicious feeling.

"Yes.  And what did I ask you to do?"

"You asked me to keep my arms above my head."

"That's right, and did you manage to keep your arms above your head?"

"No," Harry said quietly, his smile vanishing.

"No.  You didn't.  That is why we are having this little lesson today."

"But handcuffs?  Are they really necessary?"

"Harry, the sooner we start, the sooner it will be over," Draco said soothingly.  "You do trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I trust you," Harry replied, although his expression contradicted him.

"Then prove it.  Lay down on your bed," Draco commanded.  He was going to teach Harry to be more selfish and less self-denying, even if it took all night, damn it.  

Harry bit his lip and looked down at the bed and back up at Draco.  He slowly moved away from the doorway and into the room.  Draco raised his wand and pointed it at the door.  He locked it and cast a soundproofing charm and a repelling charm, to keep any unwanted visitors away.  Harry was about two metres from the bed.  Draco swallowed a smile as he dropped his wand and moved in front of Harry.

"It will be okay, love," he whispered before kissing Harry as sweetly and gently as he knew how.  He felt Harry melt against him and knew he had won.  

Draco moved slowly towards the bed, pulling Harry along with him.  He turned them and pushed Harry back onto the bed.  Harry looked quite startled to be there, he'd been so caught up in the kiss that he hadn't realised Draco was moving them.  Draco climbed up on the bed, leaned over Harry and kissed him again.  He raised Harry's right arm and snapped the handcuffs around his wrist with a satisfying click.  The left arm followed and Draco pulled away to admire his handiwork.  Harry looked so vulnerable and so beautiful, shackled to the bed like that, his green eyes shining apprehensively up at Draco.

Draco removed all of Harry's clothing with one spell and then took his own off, slowly, his eyes never leaving Harry's.  Harry struggled futilely against the velvet-lined handcuffs.  Although watching Draco strip, he wasn't so sure now that he wanted to get away.

Draco knelt on the bed between Harry's legs.  He slowly ran his hands up and down Harry's thighs.  Harry fought against his bonds, trying to reach Draco but to no avail.  Draco moved his hands from Harry's body and waited for him to lie still.

This continued for a while until Harry came to realise that Draco would only give him the sensations he craved if he was lying still.  He tried, he _really_ did, to lie still, but whenever Draco touched him his brain shut down and he tried to reciprocate.  He was getting incredibly tense from the strain of it all.

Draco sighed.  This was going to take longer than he thought.  He leaned up over Harry's chest, their bodies rubbing together and kissed him deeply.  Draco felt Harry loosen up beneath him as he kissed and nibbled his way along Harry's jaw and down his neck.  Draco latched onto one of Harry's nipples, licking and sucking it and then moved lower.  Harry's moans were more frequent now and definitely getting louder.  

Harry couldn't believe how good this felt but he still felt slightly guilty that Draco was doing everything and he was just lying there.  So enjoy it now and take care of him later, he chided himself.  Good plan, he thought decisively as he arched up to Draco's touch.  He allowed himself to relax and concentrate on receiving pleasure from Draco's incredible mouth and hands.

Draco felt the change in Harry immediately and grinned triumphantly.  He rewarded Harry by taking Little Harry into his mouth.  Harry moaned in delight.

"Say my name," Draco commanded as he pulled back for a second.  

"Ohhh Draco!" Harry whispered.

"Louder."

"Draco, Draco, DRACO!!" Harry screamed, his back arched in ecstasy as he climaxed.  He fell back to the bed, panting as his orgasm ebbed away.

Draco sat up and reached for his wand.  He released Harry's arms from the handcuffs but Harry didn't move.  His eyes were closed and he had an expression of tranquillity on his face.  Draco smiled tenderly down at his lover.  He moved up the bed to lay beside Harry, resting his head on Harry's shoulder and an arm over Harry's chest.

"I love you so much," Draco whispered, pressing a soft kiss on Harry's shoulder.

Harry's arms finally moved down to hold Draco tightly.  "I love you too," he whispered back.


	16. Weapon Of Choice

~ Quidditch Pitch ~

Harry sat watching his team practice the formations Ron had devised over the Christmas break.   Officially, Ron was the captain and usually assessed the team's progress but since he was a Chaser he was heavily involved in the play they were working on so it had been decided that Harry, having a fairly passive role, would watch to see what worked and what needed fine-tuning.  That was what was supposed to be happening.  Harry's mind, however, had drifted.

Draco was being painfully evasive.  Any mention of their upcoming wedding and he'd find some way to change the subject – usually by seducing Harry, a method that hadn't failed yet.  Harry knew he was being manipulated but he just couldn't seem to think straight when Draco was lying on top of him.  

Actually, now that Harry really thought about it, Draco was refusing to talk about anything past graduation.  Harry frowned.  Draco had accepted his proposal, but what if he only did it to keep Harry happy?  What if he never intended to go through with the wedding?  Harry himself had often caught himself daydreaming about it and their life together afterwards (particularly the honeymoon!).  But what if Draco didn't feel the same way?

Veritaserum, Harry thought suddenly.  When I proposed to Draco, he was under the influence of Veritaserum, so surely that means he actually wants to marry me-

"Harry?  Are you okay?"

"Can you hear me? Hello-oo?"

"Is his nose broken?"

"Ewww, blood!"

Harry blinked and opened his eyes.  He raised his hand to gingerly touch his face.  He pulled his hand away and looked at it.  Yep, blood.  What the hell had happened?

"Harry?" 

Ron, that was Ron sounding so worried, Harry thought.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Ron demanded once he'd assured himself that Harry was going to be okay, once Madam Pomfrey had worked her magic of course.  "Why didn't you move?"

"Move?" Harry asked, confused by all the questioning.

"When the bludger came at you – why didn't you move when we yelled at you to get out of the way?" Dean asked.

Oh my god, Harry thought.  I really must be self-centred, damn Draco and his Selfishness Lessons.  How could I not see a Bludger headed straight for me?  He ignored the questions of the rest of the team and pulled himself up.  He wobbled slightly and grabbed Ron's shoulder for support.  

"I'm okay.  I just need to get this fixed," Harry said, indicating his obviously broken nose.  "Keep going.  It looks great.  I'll see you at dinner."

The remaining members of the Gryffindor team watched as Harry walked away.

"If he didn't see the Bludger, how could he see our strategy?" Ginny said, wrinkling her forehead in confusion. Everyone else ignored Quidditch strategy in favour of discussing Harry's injury.

"I can't believe he took a Bludger to the head and he's still walking," Seamus said, admiringly.

"That's my Harry," beamed Ron proudly.  His smile faltered when he realised what he'd said.  He looked around at the curiously amused expressions of his teammates.  "I mean…he's not mine mine, he's Draco's.  I just mean, he's the Harry I've always known.  You know, tough as old boots.  Oh, hell, stop looking at me like that!  I'm with Hermione remember!! I'm straight!!!"

"Sure," said Neville teasingly.  He was a surprisingly effective keeper.  "I think you're protesting a bit too strongly there, Ron.  Suffering from a bit of Harry-envy, are we?"

"No!" shouted Ron.  "No," he said, more calmly.  "I just…you know what? Forget it.  I'm going to take a shower."

Ron stalked off with the taunts and laughter of his teammates following him.  I thought captains were supposed to get a bit of respect, he thought bitterly.  Oliver Wood never had to put up with this shit!

~ The Great Hall ~

Harry came into dinner that night a little bit later than usual.  Madam Pomfrey had been her usual annoying self and had plied him with potions and spells.  His nose was no longer broken (although it was still a nice shade of purple) and although his pride wasn't broken, it was definitely a bit bent out of shape.  He was supposed to be the Seeker, for god's sake.  The youngest in a century! And he couldn't see a Bludger coming straight at him.  

Harry plonked himself down at the Gryffindor table next to Ginny.  She was talking animatedly to Dean and hadn't noticed him sit down which was great because Harry wasn't in the mood to socialise.  If it weren't for the fact that he'd missed lunch, he wouldn't have come down.  

Draco sat on the other side of the Great Hall watching Harry carefully.  He'd noticed Harry's nose immediately but he'd already heard about the injury – such was the Hogwart's grapevine.  It was Harry's mood that had him worried.  The dark haired Gryffindor was moping about with a decidedly dismal expression.  Definitely not happy, though Draco.  It's not as if you don't know why, he chided himself, it's all your fault that he's feeling so bad.  I really don't think distractions are going to work this time, even if they do come in this incredibly gorgeous package.  

It's crunch time, Draco.  You need to decide what is most important to you.  Harry has told you time and time again that he can look after himself.  Maybe Lucius will leave him alone, he thought doubtfully.  Look, it's time to get real, Draco.  Harry's happiness is the most important thing, right?  Right, Draco replied to himself.  Then forget about that pathetic excuse for a human being who calls himself your father.  Give Harry what he wants.

I don't know…


	17. Oh Happy Day

~ Astronomy Tower ~

Later that night, Draco lay back on top of the Astronomy Tower staring up at the stars.  It was so very peaceful and still up there, away from the hustle and bustle of the school.  He stretched out, enjoying the crisp night air.  He was wearing tight blue jeans and a white t-shirt that read:

_so many boys_

_so little time_

He sighed and rested his head on his hands.  Harry was late but that in itself wasn't unusual.  Harry was one of the two most sought after guys at Hogwarts and he couldn't walk through the corridors of the school without being accosted several times on his way somewhere.  And Harry being Harry, he couldn't tell them to fuck off as Draco usually did – he was after all the other most sought after guy at Hogwarts!

What to do, what to do, Draco mused.  There were only two options so it should have been an easy decision but it wasn't and Draco was starting to feel fraught with indecision.  Two options – to be with Harry or not to be with Harry, that is the question.  He knew which option he preferred but was it the right one?  Keeping Harry safe was his utmost priority right now but that conflicted with Lucius's plans for Draco after school finished.  Lucius thought Draco was just going through a phase and that soon he would snap out of it.  That was what Draco had thought at first too, but now he knew better.  

"Harry, Harry, Harry, what am I going to do with you?" Draco said quietly to himself.

"I don't know," a voice came teasingly out of the darkness, "I can think of a few things."  Harry's face appeared as he pulled his invisibility cloak off.

Draco was so startled he almost fell off the tower.  "You prick! What the fuck do you think you're doing, sneaking up on me like that??"

Harry grabbed Draco's arm before he got too close to the edge.  "I'm sorry but I couldn't get here without the cloak.  You know what those halls are like at this time of night."

Draco shook himself free of Harry and sat up.  He stared silently into the darkness trying to ignore how sexy Harry looked in the green shirt he had bought for him, it went perfectly with the deep green jeans Harry was wearing with it.

"Listen, Drac, as I was coming here tonight, I almost ran into McGonagall and Snape.  They were talking about you, actually I think they were looking for you.  It sounded serious," Harry said, wishing Draco would look at him.  He'd obviously appeared when Draco was pondering something he didn't want Harry to know about.  

Draco turned to look his boyfriend.  "We'd better go then," he drawled coldly, reminiscent of the Draco of old.

Harry nodded, trying to keep his expression neutral.  Draco didn't need him adding to his worries right now and besides, Harry thought, it was childish to get upset just because Draco had spoken so coldly to him.  He's just worried about what this is all about, Harry reasoned.

The two boys got up, Harry tucking the cloak under his arm, and they left the tower.

~ Professor Dumbledore's Office ~

"We couldn't find him," McGonagall said apologetically to the headmaster.  She was sitting opposite Dumbledore who was seated behind his desk.  Snape was pacing around the room like a caged lion.  

"Sit down, Severus, you're making me dizzy," Dumbledore said softly.  

Snape stopped pacing but did not sit.  "I don't like it.  Potter is missing too."

"Well, obviously wherever they are, they are together," McGonagall said imperiously.

"Indeed they are," said Dumbledore before calling out, "come in."

The door opened and a light and a dark head peered around.  

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter.  Just the student's we've been looking for.  Please sit down," Dumbledore said solemnly.  Harry and Draco sat down in the chairs next to McGonagall and stared expectantly at the headmaster.

"Mr. Malfoy, it is my sad duty to inform you that your father died earlier today in a freak accident at Malfoy Manor.  Your mother is fine and will be here in a few days to see you once she has finalised all the arrangements that such an event entails," Dumbledore finished speaking and all four of them turned to Draco so see his reaction. 

Draco was staring in shock at Dumbledore.  This was almost too easy.  It couldn't be true.  His father must have faked his death.  One look at Dumbledore's face told him that it was true – his father was truly gone.  Now the second option he had been contemplating earlier didn't exist and it just seemed too….easy.  A tear escaped Draco's eye, followed by another and another.  

Harry made a whimpering noise deep in his throat and gathered Draco in his arms.  He rubbed Draco's back soothingly and kissed his neck.  "I'm so sorry, my dragon," he whispered in Draco's ear.  To his intense shock, Draco started giggling.  Harry pulled back slightly and stared into Draco's shining silver eyes.

"He's gone into shock," Snape stated grimly.

"No, no," Draco managed to get out while still giggling like a schoolgirl.  "I just…." He swallowed and tried to speak again.  "I thought I would have to break up with Harry at the end of the year, to keep him safe from my father.  But now that he's gone I don't have to.  I can be with him forever."

Harry grinned back at Draco, it all made sense now as he remembered Draco's revelations courtesy of The Veritaserum Incident.  Harry had been dreading the end of school as he'd suspected that Draco would do something stupid like break up with him under the pretext of 'saving' him.  While it was good to see Draco acting so noble and principled, Harry knew he would fall apart without Draco by his side.  He pulled Draco back into a tight hug, pushing aside the feeling that it was wrong to celebrate someone's death, however bad they might have been.


	18. Narcissa Arrives

~ Professor Dumbledore's Office ~

Harry and Draco reluctantly let go of each other and sat closely together, their hands clutched together.  Although Harry was feeling optimistic, he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.  There was something they weren't being told.

"But how do we know this isn't some sort of trick?" he asked quietly, not wanting to upset Draco.  Dumbledore smiled at the boys, as if he was expecting this question.

"Narcissa called me right after she called the Medi-Wizards.  I was there when they pronounced him officially dead," Dumbledore said slowly.

"So what was the cause of death?" Snape asked with blatant disregard for anyone's feelings.  Dumbledore shot him a You're-Walking-A-Fine-Line look before replying.

"Boys, I think it is time for you to go to bed.  You have classes tomorrow."  

Harry got the hint and stood up, tugging the blond boy up beside him.  They bade their professors' goodnight and left the office.

"It hasn't been made public yet and I doubt it ever will be, but it was auto-erotic asphyxiation.  I don't think Mr. Malfoy needs to know the depths of depravity his father had sunk to.  Goodnight to both of you."  Dumbledore finished his stern speech and left McGonagall and Snape alone in his office.

~ Entrance Hall ~

"When is your mother supposed to be arriving, Drac?" Harry asked, glancing down at his watch.  He was sitting on the stairs watching Draco pace around the room.

Draco turned to look at Harry and groaned at the sight of Harry's unruly hair. "I don't know.  Soon."  

He strode over to where Harry was sitting and pulled a brush out of a pocket in his school robes.  He held Harry's chin firmly as he dragged the brush through Harry's hair in a futile attempt to make it sit straight.

"Ow! Drac, stop it!" Harry yelped, his hands pulling Draco's away from his head.  "Do you have to brush it so hard?  I'm surprised I've got any hair left," he said as he gingerly ran a hand through his hair, as if trying to determine how much had been viciously ripped out.

"I just want everything to be perfect, okay.  Tuck your shirt in," Draco said irritably.  Harry stood up, pushed back his robes and tucked his shirt into his school pants.  Classes had finished and Harry wanted to go change into something a bit more comfortable but Draco wouldn't let him, even when Harry said that the _something more comfortable _that he wanted to slip into was Draco.  

Harry smiled indulgently as he watched Draco standing over by the window fussing with his green and silver tie.  His mother clearly meant a lot to him, which told Harry that she was different from his father.  If it was his father who was about to arrive, Harry very much doubted that Draco would care what he was wearing or how Harry's hair looked.  Hell, he probably wouldn't even be here in the Entrance Hall.  They'd be _busy_ somewhere else.  Harry grinned.  

"She's here!" Draco said excitedly as he stared out the window.  He rushed over to the door, threw it open and pulled a startled blonde woman into a fierce hug.  Harry stood up and anxiously straightened his clothes.  

Narcissa pulled away from her son and stared up at him.  She only came up to his shoulders.  "I've missed you so much, Darling.  I'm sorry I couldn't come straight away after your father…."

"Shh, it's okay.  I understand," Draco said tenderly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.  "Come, there's someone I want you to meet."  Draco led her over to where Harry was standing and proudly announced,  "Mother, I'd like to introduce you to my fiancé, Harry Potter."

Narcissa gasped as Harry smiled nervously at her.  "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy."

"It's lovely to meet you too, Harry," Narcissa said warmly before she turned to her son.  "You're engaged? When were you going to tell me?  Before or after the wedding?"  

Draco had the grace to look ashamed.  "I'm sorry.  I was going to tell you, but so many things have happened that I just haven't had the chance."

"What could be more important than telling your mother that you are going to get married?" Narcissa demanded.

"Well…." Draco started, "there was that incident with Snape in the Slytherin bathroom…" Both Harry and Draco shuddered as they caught the double meaning behind that statement.  

"And the trip to Hogsmeade where we bought our rings…" added Harry as he and Draco automatically held out their hands so their rings could be inspected.

"Then I ended up in the Hospital Wing after Ron stupefied me.  But he thought I was Voldemort, so it was okay…" Draco said frankly.  Narcissa looked concerned by this news but did not interrupt.

"And then there was that incident down by the lake during the Quidditch match," Harry said, grinning.

"Don't forget about the _lesson_ that resulted from that _incident_," Draco said, grinning back at Harry, who blushed.

"I don't think I need to hear anymore," Narcissa said amusedly, gazing from one to the other.  It was obvious to her that Harry was deeply in love with her son and that pleased her.  He would be good for Draco, she decided.

"Professor Dumbledore is expecting you in his office," said Harry.  He hung back as Draco and his mother started walking hand in hand down the corridor towards the office.  This was family time and that didn't include him.

"Harry!" Draco called, somehow knowing what Harry was thinking.  He held out his hand and stared expectantly at Harry.  It was not the first time that Harry had thought that either Draco knew him really well or he was just that transparent.  

Harry caught up with them and took Draco's hand.

"You're a part of our family now, Harry," Narcissa said kindly as the three of them continued down the hall.


	19. The Wedding Planner

~ The Great Hall ~

 "What about this one?"

"No, that's too blue."

"How about this?"

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?? Not blue, _nothing_ blue.  Green.  It must be green!"

"Okay, calm down Draco, this one is green."

"Eugh, no, that's _lime_ green."

"O-kay.  Well, when you've worked out which shade of green you want, let me know."

Harry threw the book of material swatches onto the Gryffindor table they had covered with wedding paraphernalia and observed his lover sitting opposite him.  Draco was being such a goddamn perfectionist but he did look cute the way as he scrunched up his face in concentration as he flipped through different styles of invitations.  There were still a couple of months to go until graduation and their wedding but Draco insisted that they had to start planning now if they wanted the day to run smoothly.  

Narcissa bit back a laugh.  Her son and his fiancé were just like….well not like her and Lucius….but how she imagined couples who loved each other dearly might plan their wedding.  Harry clearly had no idea of what Draco wanted but he was eager to please anyway.  She reached over for the abandoned material book and flicked through the available colours.

"How about this one, darling," she said, holding one up for Draco to scrutinize.  His gaze quickly flickered between the deep emerald material and Harry's eyes and back again.  Harry suddenly realised why lime green was so offensive but wondered why on earth everything had to match his bloody eyes.

"It's perfect!" Draco announced sounding pleased at last.  

Harry shot Narcissa a smile and a grateful look.

"Now we just need to decide on the style," Draco said as Harry groaned.  This was just getting worse by the minute.  If I'd known how much trouble a wedding was, I never would have…..no, he thought, I still would have proposed.  It will be worth it in the end.  I hope…..

"They're just robes, Draco.  Although I really don't understand why we're even wearing robes, when we hate them," Harry replied.  That stopped Draco in his tracks.

"I don't either," Draco replied, chewing on his lip in that adorable way that Harry loved.  "What do you suggest we wear?  But if we're getting married here perhaps we should stick with convention and wear robes."

"Since when have we ever been conventional?" Harry laughed.  "Leave our clothing to me and you just worry about the rest of the arrangements.  You know better than I do what we need for the wedding so I'll just-"

"Sit!  You are not going anywhere!  This is _our_ wedding and we are going to plan it _together_," Draco said sternly, glaring at Harry as if daring him to try to worm his way out of this.  

"But Draco," Harry practically whined, "we don't have time for this.  Have you forgotten our exams coming up soon?  The N.E.W.T.s?"

Draco's face fell.  "Shit.  What the hell are we supposed to do then?  I can't get all this done, and study and do exams."

"You could always hire a wedding planner," put in Hermione, who had just joined the group.  She dropped a pile of books on the table with a loud thunk.  

"Where's Ron?" asked Harry amiably.  

"He's drilling Neville out on the Quidditch pitch.  I think Dean and Seamus are practicing too…well, hitting bludgers at each other at any rate," Hermione said with a wry smile.

"You know that's not a bad idea, Hermione" Draco said thoughtfully.

Harry looked startled, "What?  Hitting bludgers at each other?"

"No!  Hiring a wedding planner.  We definitely need help with this.  There's just too much to get done in so little time," Draco clarified.

Narcissa cleared her throat.  "Darling, I'd be more than willing to help.  I've really got nothing else to do and I'd welcome the opportunity to stay here for a while."

Draco beamed at her and looked questioningly at Harry who nodded.  

"My mother knows everything there is to know about planning the social event of the year, no the decade, hell, the century!" Draco said with a flourish.  He and Harry gathered up all their wedding plan bits and pieces and dropped them in front of Narcissa.

"Thanks mother," Draco called out as he and Harry ran out of the Great Hall to God Knows Where.

Narcissa sighed and looked down at the mess in front of her.  "I asked for that, didn't I?" she said with a touch of irony.

Hermione giggled.  "Yep!"

~ A Deserted Corridor Somewhere In The Castle ~

Harry crept along the corridor with a stealth that even Mrs. Norris would have envied.  He stopped beneath a painting of a young Rowena Ravenclaw.  He glanced around the dark desolate corridor for a sign of life.  He jumped back into the shadows as he heard footsteps approaching.

"Harry?" A voice called as the footsteps neared.  Harry reached out and pulled the person back into the shadows with him.

Narcissa Malfoy stared at Harry in surprise.  "Why are we meeting here?"

"Shh," he whispered.  "No one's supposed to know we're meeting like this!"

"Sorry," she whispered back.  "I guess that answers my question."

"I don't want Draco to know," he hissed, as if this should have been obvious.

"He's going to find out.  You can't hope to keep this from him," she retorted softly.


	20. The Catfight Of The Century?

~ A Deserted Corridor Somewhere In The Castle ~

 "I know he will find out eventually but I want it to be a surprise," Harry replied quietly.  He pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket.

"Here are my measurements and a description of what I think each of us should wear.  I'd appreciate it if you could show me when you get them.  Oh and this should be enough money to pay for them," Harry said, reaching into his pocket for a bag of galleons which he passed to his future mother in law.

Narcissa looked over the parchment and then back at Harry in surprise.  "Why do you need me to get this for you?  You can get all this in Hogsmeade."

"I know," Harry replied impatiently, "but when I'm not in class, Draco is always with me.  He has so much to think about at the moment, I wanted to do something for him.  Anyway, I have to go now, he'll be wondering where I am."

Harry looked to his left and right before darting back down the corridor, leaving behind a very amused Narcissa.  She reached into her robes and pulled out another piece of parchment.  Draco had also given her his measurements and a description of what he thought they should wear.  Narcissa glanced from one list to the other with a smile.  Which one should she get?

On the one hand, Draco did have a better eye for colour and style than Harry did, but Harry was so adamant about helping Draco.  It was endearing, really, she thought as she walked back down the corridor towards the staircase.

~ Gryffindor Common Room ~

Draco was sitting in an armchair by the fire glaring at any Gryffindor who dared to so much as glance at him.  Where the fuck was Harry?  He was supposed to meet Draco by the fire half an hour ago.  Ron and Hermione were off somewhere (probably doing it in the library, Draco thought with a snigger) and he didn't know any of the other Gryffindors.  He really wasn't in the mood for idle chitchat anyway.  His mind was too caught up in more important things…

Harry had been acting so secretively lately.  This was not the first time this week that Harry had been late.  And then there were those owls of unknown origin, which Harry would give his immediate attention to and reply instantly, regardless of how Draco tried to distract him.  If Draco didn't know better, he'd almost think Harry was having an affair.  

_How can you be so sure that he's not?_ An annoying voice in his head asked slyly.

Draco snorted.  Oh, please! Like he's ever going to find someone who can satisfy him like I can, he retorted and then realised he was arguing with himself.  At last, a decent conversation, he thought with a derisive glance around at the young, immature Gryffindors.

Just then, Harry stumbled through the portrait hole.  A very dishevelled and out of breath Harry.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Draco demanded, standing up to face Harry angrily.

The Gryffindors instantly stopped what they were doing and turned to watch what they undoubtedly thought would be the catfight of the century.

Harry took his time adjusting his robes and dusting himself off.  He used this time to surreptitiously study Draco.  The blonde man's stormy eyes were flashing angrily.  He clearly didn't like to be kept waiting – a fact Harry knew all too well but he hadn't had a choice in the matter this time.  

"I was out," Harry replied simply, almost nonchalantly.  God, Draco was sexy when he was worked up, he thought as he suppressed a smile, this could be fun.

"Out?" Draco sounded like an outraged housewife.  "That's all you have to say for yourself?"

Draco stalked over to Harry and leaned into his neck.  He sniffed loudly.

"Just as I suspected! You were with someone, you cheating bastard!" Draco slapped Harry hard across his cheek and felt instant horror at what he had just done which seemed to snap him out of whatever had come over him.

Up until that point Harry had been watching Draco with an amused, indulgent expression.  Let him get out his annoyance at being forced to wait for Harry (in the Gryffindor common room, no less) and then they'd go upstairs for some satisfying make up sex.  But now Harry was angry.  Angrier than he could ever remember being.

"JUST AS YOU SUSPECTED??  I'M A BIT LATE AND YOU IMMEDIATELY ASSUME I'M CHEATING?  HOW DARE YOU? YOU JUST DON'T TRUST ME, DO YOU?" he roared.

Draco looked taken aback.  Harry looked furious and Draco was now starting to question the wisdom of throwing around wild accusations for which he had no proof.  Harry wasn't the cheating type.  Harry was the loyal, dependable, _faithful_ type.  What the hell had he been thinking?  Or better yet, what the hell had he been drinking?

"I'm sorry, Harry, I-"

"No Draco.  We are going to get married.  Do you understand that?"  Harry turned to address everyone in the room.  "For those of you who don't know, that means a lifetime commitment. Two people vowing to love and _trust_ each other."  Harry turned back to Draco.  "Forever and ever."

"I know.  I'm so sorry but you've been so secretive lately and-"

"Oh, so it's my fault your imagination ran away with you, is it?  You know secrets aren't always bad.  It was supposed to be a surprise and now you've ruined it!"  With that final theatrical exclamation Harry turned and flounced out of the room towards his dorm room.  

Draco stared after him, his eyes stinging.  He blinked and focused on the rest of the room.  

"What the fuck are you staring at?"


	21. Harry The Hufflepuff

~ Gryffindor Seventh Year Boys' Dorm Room ~

Harry flung himself down on his bed.  He felt so…wretched.  He hated feeling this way.  Really hated it.  And he hated Draco for making him feel this way.  Okay, so I don't hate him, he thought contrarily.  I love him so much it hurts.  How the hell can our marriage work if he doesn't trust me?  I was just trying to do something nice for him.  Argh! He screamed into his pillow.  

Draco crept timidly into the room and almost fled when he heard Harry scream.  If it weren't for the emotional anguish that was evident in that scream, he probably _would_ have run.  It made him want to scoop Harry up into his arms and rock him back and forth until the pain went away.  It hurt Draco to know that he had caused that pain.  It was his fault that Harry was questioning their impending marriage.  It was his fault for jumping to conclusions.  I really should start hanging out with Hermione more often, then maybe her reasonable nature and her fondness for evidence might rub off on him.  On the other hand, Draco remembered how she acted when she thought Ron was having an affair.  So maybe she wouldn't have acted calmly in the face of the overwhelming circumstantial evidence Draco had been faced with.  

Draco tiptoed over to Harry's bed.  The Gryffindor still had his head in his pillow and Draco was starting to worry about the possibility that Harry might suffocate.  He sat down on the edge of the bed next to Harry.  If Harry was aware of the bed dipping as Draco sat down, he gave no indication of it.  Draco held his hand out over Harry's back and hesitated for a second before a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob made up his mind for him.  He gently rubbed Harry's back and made what he hoped were appropriately soothing noises.  

"Just listen to me, okay.  I'm really sorry for pulling a Hermione back there.  I know I totally overreacted and I'm so sorry.  I do trust you.  I really do.  I _know_ you would never cheat.  You're too much of a Gryffindor to do that.  Although you know you really would be a good Hufflepuff too, with your loyalty and dedication."  

Draco felt Harry's body jerk beneath his hand and took that to mean he was laughing, always a good sign.  Of course he could have been crying harder, but Draco pushed that thought aside and kept talking.

"I know it's no excuse but it's been pretty stressful lately, what with the wedding and exams and everything.  I guess everything just got on top of me and then you were late and you've been keeping things from me….I don't like being left out of the loop and I definitely don't like surprises.  I've had too many _surprises_ that turned out to be absolute nightmares." 

Draco took a deep breath and realised what he'd just said, and almost given away, so he quickly continued talking.  

"Anyway, I'm really sorry and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.  I love you so much Harry and I hate that I hurt you.  I hate seeing you like this.  Please talk to me."

Harry pushed himself up so he was sitting on the bed facing Draco.  His beautiful blonde boyfriend looked so distressed and so regretful that Harry knew he couldn't stay mad at him.  

"I love you too, Drac.  I'm sorry that I gave you a reason to think that I might not be faithful to you.  I just wanted to do something for you.  I wanted to surprise you."

Draco reached over and gently brushed a couple of tears from Harry's cheek.  

"You have nothing to apologise for.  You were right.  I should have _known_ that you would never cheat."

"Can we not talk about it?" Harry asked earnestly.

"Sure," Draco agreed and then grinned.  "Whatever shall we do instead?"

Harry grinned back as they both cried, "Make up sex!"

~ Narcissa Malfoy's Room At Hogwarts ~

Narcissa stared down at the four pictures before her.  In the days since her clandestine meeting with Harry, she'd been into Hogsmeade and the staff at Gladrags Wizardwear were helpful enough to photograph the outfits Harry and Draco had selected for their wedding day.  The models in the photographs were posing in front of her, each trying to show off the clothes to the best advantage.  The trouble was – which pair of outfits was she going to choose?  One of the boys was going to be disappointed.  

Draco, in spite of his heavy workload, was still overseeing the details of the ceremony and reception while Narcissa was taking care of the actual planning.  The outfits he had chosen fitted in perfectly with the rest of the theme and the colour scheme whereas Harry's, while clashing with the overall design, were pure Harry and Draco and she could see them wearing them and enjoying every minute of their day.  

With that thought, Narcissa decided what to do.  She felt bad about discarding Draco's carefully laid plan but she felt that he would appreciate the thought that Harry had put into this surprise for Draco.  Besides, it was more personal this way.


	22. Hermione Annoys The Crap Out Of Everybod...

~ Great Hall ~

Harry sat down beside Hermione with a sigh and helped himself to some lunch.

"How do you think you went in your Divination exam?" she asked him curiously.

"Okay, I guess.  I just made stuff up, as usual.  I told Trelawney that she was going to die a gruesome death next week." he replied through a mouthful of bread.

Hermione had been drinking her pumpkin juice when Harry calmly announced his 'prediction' but now Seamus was wearing her juice.  He accepted the napkin Ginny passed him with a sigh.

"Sorry," Hermione said dismissively and turned back to Harry, totally missing the face Seamus made at her.  

"You actually told her she was going to die?  What did she say?" Hermione said eagerly, failing miserably to look disapproving of such behaviour.

"She told me off for making such a nasty prediction and said that people do not like to be informed of their death so I shouldn't do it again," Harry replied, grinning at the sheer irony of it.

"Did you say anything to her? About the way she's been predicting your death for the past five years?" Ginny asked curiously.

"It wasn't worth it.  I'll never have to see her again anyway.  It's this afternoon's potions exam that I'm really worried about.  This is Snape's last chance to damage my academic record.  Either that or poison me," he said mockingly.

"How long before Ron finishes the Divination exam?" Hermione inquired.

"Trelawney's doing them individually in alphabetical order so it shouldn't be too long before he joins us.  How was Arithmancy?" Harry said as he reached for his pumpkin juice.

"Great!  I think I did really well.  Question sixteen was a little tricky but then I remembered…."

Harry tuned out Hermione's voice as he glanced over at the Slytherin table.  Draco was laughing and joking with his friends.  Crabbe and Goyle looked a little confused about what they were talking about but they were laughing along with the others.  Millicent had her arm around Pansy and was whispering in her girlfriend's ear.  On the whole, the Slytherin group looked much happier and more light-hearted since the defeat of Voldemort.  Look at me, Harry thought hard, trying to project his will onto Draco.  Harry congratulated himself when Draco looked over and caught Harry's eye.  The blond flashed him a killer smile and returned to his conversation.

"…and then I thought to myself, Hermione, you silly girl, the answer is obviously _d_."

"Obviously," Harry said as he rejoined the conversation, grinning at Ginny, who had noticed his distraction.  Luckily Dean and Ron arrived then and Hermione enthusiastically began to tell Ron of her valiant battle with tricky question sixteen, allowing Harry to leave the Gryffindor table so he could join the Slytherins.

Harry dropped down next to Draco.

"Hey, wonder boy, what are you doing over here?" Draco asked, curious but pleased.

"You guys looked like you were having so much fun that I wanted to join in.  Besides, how could I resist that smile, my dragon?"  Harry said with a smile.

Pansy snickered but stopped when Draco glared at her.

"We need to talk about where we are going to live in two weeks," Draco said to Harry.

"Please don't be offended by this, but I don't think I can live in Malfoy Manor.  I'm sorry, but it just doesn't feel right…you know, what with your Dad trying to kill me and all," Harry said tentatively.  He wasn't sure how Draco would feel about that.  Draco had said once before that he would live in Malfoy Manor because it was his heritage, but that had been when his father was alive.  Maybe now he'd agree to find a neutral place to live, not one tainted by evil.  

"Of course we're not going to live in the Manor," Draco said, aghast at the very suggestion.  "Mother lives there.  I'm not some loser who's going to live with his mummy for the rest of his life.  Give me some credit."

Harry held up his hands in mock surrender, "Sorry.  You just said one day a few months ago that you were going to live there-"

"Yeah, when my…when Lucius was alive.  Not now.  We need our own space.  Besides, that place is so dreary," Draco said knowingly.

"Okay, so where will we live?  I only really know Diagon Alley, the Burrow, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.  Oh, and that graveyard Voldemort once took me to.  Ah, we had some good times," Harry said mock nostalgically.  "Anyway, I don't know much about the magical world.  Where is a good place to live?"

"Well, at the moment, the trendiest place to live is Godric's Hollow, just outside London.  It has some happening clubs, cool cafes and all these quaint houses that have been renovated in a more modern style," Draco said informatively.

"Godric's Hollow….hmmm where have I heard that before?" Harry mused.

"There was a write up about it in this weeks Witch Weekly," Draco said, and when he saw Harry's expression he quickly added, "Pansy was showing me last night.  Honestly."

"Sure," Harry said with a grin.

"She was!" Draco said hotly, hitting Harry's arm.

"Ow!" Harry clutched at his arm, which didn't hurt at all, and managed to produce a forlorn expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie," Draco scooted closer to Harry and gently rubbed his arm.  "Sometimes I don't know my own strength.  Stop giggling, Pansy!"  He glared at the blonde girl who had started laughing at Draco's use of the endearment 'sweetie'.

"Sor-ry," she said snootily, "I'm going to Potions."

"Whatever," Draco said, more concerned with Harry's 'sore' arm than anything else.

"You know what will make it feel better?" Harry asked with a sly grin.

"What?" Draco replied, wrinkling his nose in confusion.

"A kiss or two," Harry said, grinning.

Draco grinned back and leaned forward to briefly brush Harry's mouth with his own.

"Better?" Draco asked politely.

"Not quite what I had in mind," Harry replied.

Draco leaned in again and pressed his lips to Harry's.  He ran his tongue seductively along Harry's lips, coaxing them open and his tongue played with Harry's.

"Better?" Draco asked breathlessly.

"Much," Harry replied, pulling Draco's head back towards his own.

"Ahem," A loud voice interrupted their private moment, as they reluctantly pulled apart.

"Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy," Snape said coldly.  "Were either of you planning on attending my exam this afternoon?"


	23. Neville Gets Some

~ Great Hall ~

"Or do you intend to continue this…perhaps in a more private setting?" Snape continued cynically.

"We have a choice?" Harry asked delightedly.

"No, you do not have a choice," Snape snapped impatiently.  "Dungeon, five minutes."

With that Snape strode angrily away from the pair.

"We'd better go.  We don't want to give him an excuse to fail us…another one, I mean," Harry said dolefully as he picked up his bag.

"Cheer up, lover boy, it's our last exam," Draco said picking up his bag and draping his arm around Harry's shoulders.

~ Gryffindor Common Room ~

Harry, Ron and Hermione finally managed to get close to the notice board on which the exam results were posted a few hours after they had been pinned up.  Hermione squealed with excitement when she saw she had earned 12 NEWTs.  Ron and Harry were both pleased to receive 10 NEWTs each (undoubtedly due to Hermione's study sessions which forced them to do what they would rather put off).  Harry scanned down the list of seventh year Gryffindors to compare their results.  He was startled to see that Neville had passed Potions with flying colours.

"Hey Nev," he called to the boy sitting by the fire, "how did you manage to pass Potions this year?"

Neville blushed bright red and Ron started gagging.

"You're kidding, right?  Come on, Nev, tell me you're kidding!" Ron said, desperately trying to rid himself of the mental picture of Neville and Snape _together_.

"But he's horrible," Hermione said, concerned.

"No, he's not.  He's just misunderstood!" Neville replied defensively.

"Snape?  Misunderstood?" Harry asked sceptically.

"Of all people, I thought you would understand, Harry," Neville said sadly.  "You're the one who changed Draco-"

"I didn't change Draco.  He's always been like that…it just took us a while to get past the hatred and the anger, to see that we were perfect for each other.  Look, Neville, if you really do believe that Snape is 'misunderstood' then I'll support you," Harry replied cautiously.  "We just don't want you to get hurt."

The portrait hole opened and Draco waltzed into the common room.

"What's going on?" he asked, seeing all the Gryffindors he knew standing around one end of the room.

"Neville and Snape are getting it on," Ron replied with a grin.  Draco started laughing, almost hysterically.

"Snape…hahaha…and Longbottom…hahaha…Oh god, that's good.  That's priceless," he said as he fell into a chair, still laughing.

Harry glared at him.  "Don't be cruel, Draco."

"Me? Cruel? Never!" Draco said, still laughing.  

~ The Great Hall ~

This year, the Leaving Feast was especially poignant for Harry, Ron, Hermione and Co.  It was the last one they would ever attend (as students, at least) and they were all feeling a little sad to be leaving.  Of course the students invited to Harry and Draco's wedding wouldn't actually be leaving until next week.  Many past students were also coming back in the next few days for the wedding such as Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, and Cho Chang.  Obviously the entire Weasley family would be there, as well as Sirius and Remus.  Naturally, the Dursleys had not been invited.  

Gryffindor had once again won the House and Quidditch cups.  Draco had been really pissed to lose the Quidditch cup again, Harry thought with a smile at the memory of their last game.  The game had lasted for five hours, one of their longest ever, but in the end Harry had caught the snitch after both seekers had a series of near-catches.  Draco, knowing it was his last chance to finally beat Harry, was desperate to win.  

Afterwards he had been in such a bad mood that all the other students avoided him for three whole days.  Harry had tried to talk to him, but as soon as he approached Draco, the blonde man turned and walked away in the opposite direction.  Harry thought he knew the castle layout pretty well, thanks to the invisibility cloak, but Draco obviously knew it better as he was able to shake Harry pretty easily when he was trying to get away from him.  

Eventually Harry was able to corner him, literally, late on the third day.

"Did you want me to throw the game for you?" Harry asked sadly.  He couldn't believe something like this was coming between them.  He honestly hadn't thought that Draco would want to win that way.  

"No," Draco said in a small voice.  "It's just….well, my father was right, wasn't he?  I'm just not good enough.  I'll never be good enough."  Draco slid down the wall he had been leaning against and rested his head on his knees.  "I'm not upset with you, if that's what you think.  I'm angry with myself.  For letting him get to me.  I knew I wouldn't be able to beat you.  There are very few who would be able to beat you at Quidditch.  After the game, it all came flooding back to me….his insults, his taunting and his threats if I didn't do better."

Harry sat down beside Draco and pulled the Slytherin Seeker into his arms.

"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you, Harry.  I just couldn't face you when I felt so bad about myself.  I didn't want to see what I was feeling reflected in your eyes," Draco said before burying his face in Harry's neck.

"Oh, Drac, I would never think badly of you….even if you went out and became a Death Eater.  There is nothing you could do that would change the way I feel about you," Harry said tenderly as he rubbed Draco's back.

Harry was startled back to the present by the thunderous applause of the students seated around him.  It appeared that he had daydreamed his way through Dumbledore's speech.  He started clapping enthusiastically, ignoring Hermione's look of stern disapproval. 


	24. You Expect Me To Wear This?!?

~ Gryffindor Seventh Year Boys' Dorm Room ~

Harry woke up feeling like he was going to burst with happiness.  He stared up at the scarlet canopy above his bed and grinned.  It was his wedding day.  Finally.  He reached over for his glasses and pushed them up on his nose.  

Suddenly the curtains surrounding his bed were pushed back and four faces peered in at him, all sporting identical grins.  Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus.  

"Rise and shine, Harry," Ron said cheerfully.

"You have a big day ahead of you and an even bigger night!" Seamus said winking suggestively.  

"Narcissa came by just before and left a package for you," Neville added.

Harry leapt out of bed and saw a large white box tied with two thick velvet ribbons – one silver and one green - sitting on his trunk.  Harry reached out and stroked the soft silver ribbon thinking of Draco.

"Come on, hurry up and open it!" Ron said eagerly.

Harry grinned at all four of them, he was positively glowing and the other four Gryffindors could feel the happiness radiating out of him.  Harry pulled the ribbons off the box and slowly raised the lid.  Inside was something wrapped in tissue paper.  Harry threw the lid onto his bed and carefully lifted the tissue paper away.  His outfit looked exactly the way he'd planned it.  Dark green dragon hide pants, so dark they looked practically black, and a dark green linen shirt.  There were also matching dark green dragon hide boots.  Perfect, Harry thought.  I just hope Draco likes his outfit.

"Oh Harry, you are going to look gorgeous in that," Hermione said as she entered the room.  

"You certainly are," Seamus cooed, sidling up to Harry.  "You know, if you ever feel in need of a bit of _loving_ and Draco's not willing, you know where to find me."

Harry pushed Seamus away, laughing at the Irishman's antics.

"I came up here to tell you guys that we are having breakfast down in the common room if you want to join us.  No one's dressed yet so you can come down in your pyjamas," Hermione said as she grabbed Ron's hand and dragged him downstairs.

Harry lay his outfit down on his bed before joining the others downstairs.  He just hoped Draco was happy with the outfit Harry had chosen for him.

~ Slytherin Seventh Year Boys' Dorm Room ~

Draco was aghast as he stared down into the box his mother had just given to him.  Unbeknownst to him it was identical to the box Harry had received however, the contents were different.

"This isn't what I asked for!  What the hell is this?" he demanded of his mother who was sitting on his bed.  

"It's-" Narcissa didn't get to reply before her son interrupted her again.  He held up the silvery blue linen shirt with a look of disgust.

"Does this look like what I asked for?  I clearly wrote it down – white robes for me and black for Harry."

"Actually someone suggested that you wear a wedding dress, which is what those robes probably would have looked like," Narcissa said, smiling at the memory.  It had been an amusing image, Draco in a wedding dress but she had stuck to Harry's idea.  

Draco looked even more appalled at the thought so Narcissa hurriedly said, "Harry also wrote down what he thought you two should wear.  That shirt and the rest of it were his idea."

"Harry wanted this?" Draco asked in surprise.  Suddenly the contents of the box didn't seem so bad.

"He wanted it to be a surprise for you," Narcissa said gently and left the room.

Draco had forgotten about Harry's surprise.  Now he remembered how hurt Harry had been when Draco had almost spoilt it by accusing Harry of having an affair.  So this was what he had been doing.

He held up the silvery blue linen shirt and stared at it with soft eyes.  Harry wanted him to wear this, so he would.  He gently laid the shirt on his bed and looked back into the box.  He reached in and pulled out a pair of dragon hide pants in a shade he had never seen before.  They matched the shirt perfectly and there were boots to match.  Harry and his mother must have gone to a lot of trouble to find these for him.  Silvery blue dragons were extremely rare.

Now that he was calmer, he had to admit it was a stunning outfit.  He'd been blinded earlier by the fact that his carefully laid plans had been pushed aside.  He laid the pants next to the shirt and went to have breakfast in the common room.  The Great Hall had already been rearranged for the wedding so they had to eat in the common rooms.  


	25. Breakfast At Hogwarts

~  Gryffindor Common Room ~

The armchairs and sofas in the common room had been moved to one end of the room and a long table covered with food stood in their place.  Already seated were the Weasley's, Sirius, Remus, Hermione, Dean, Seamus and Neville.

"Harry!" George said, clapping him on the back as Harry sat down next to him.

"Only a few more hours of freedom left," chimed in Fred.

"How do you feel?" asked Charlie, grinning across the table at Harry.

"I miss Draco," Harry said with a smile that said he knew exactly how pathetic he was.

"You saw him yesterday," Hermione said, exasperated.

"You should have seen him yesterday!" Ron said to the rest of the group as Harry blushed.  "We practically had to drag him away from Draco while Crabbe and Goyle dragged Draco back to the Slytherin common room."

"But I haven't been apart from Draco for more than 24 hours since last summer," Harry whined.

"In a few hours, you will never have to be apart from him again," Mrs Weasley said soothingly.  "Eat up.  You have a busy day ahead of you.  You don't want to faint from hunger."

Harry helped himself to the food and ate quietly, enjoying the company of his favourite people around him.  

Fred and George were involved in a spirited discussion with Sirius and Remus about pranks and the twins joke shop.  

Seamus and Dean were mercilessly teasing Neville while Ron, Charlie, Bill and Arthur animatedly discussed Quidditch tactics and strategies.  

Hermione, Ginny and Mrs Weasley were comparing girly things that Harry didn't want to know about.

If Draco were here, this would be absolutely perfect, Harry thought with a sigh.

"I'm going to take a shower," Harry said to no one in particular as he stood up.  Everyone waved or nodded as Harry left the room.

~ Gryffindor Seventh Year Boys Dorm Room ~

Harry was just buttoning up his green linen shirt when Sirius and Remus entered the room.  

"Hey guys," Harry grinned at them as he pulled on his boots to complete the outfit.

"Harry, Remus and I just wanted to tell you that your parents would have been very proud of you today," Sirius said with a sad smile.  "_We_ are very proud of you too."

"I'm sure they'll be watching today," added Remus.  "Dumbledore asked me to give you this," he said, handing Harry a key.

"It's the key to your parents house in Godric's Hollow.  Dumbledore made sure it would be there waiting for you when you were ready.  Remus and I have spent the last month fixing it up for you and Draco.  I hope you like it," Sirius said softly.

Harry stared down at the key in wonder.  He'd owled Sirius after the conversation with Draco about Godric's Hollow but his godfather had never answered his questions about what had happened to his parent's house.

"We wanted it to be a surprise for you," Remus said quietly.

Harry opened his mouth but found that he couldn't speak.  He hugged Sirius and then Remus tightly. 

"Thank you," he finally choked out.  

"Remus and Angela live down the street and I live around the corner, so we'll be close by if you ever need us," Sirius said, glad that Harry was happy with what they had done.

"You live with her?" Harry asked Remus in amazement.  The last he'd heard, Remus had just started seeing her.

"Yeah," Remus blushed.

"Is she coming to the wedding?" Harry asked, intrigued by the woman who could make Remus Lupin blush.

"She'll be here in time for the ceremony.  She works in the Department of Mysteries and she had….something to do this morning," Remus explained.

"How about you, Sirius? Do you have a date for the wedding?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Nah, I heard weddings are a great place to meet women so I'm hoping to pick someone up at the reception!"  Sirius said with a laugh.  

Harry started brushing his hair, a totally pointless exercise but he wanted everything to be perfect for Draco.  

"I remember watching your father do the exact same thing on his wedding day," Sirius said, watching Harry.  "He never did get it to sit right but Lily always said she thought his hair looked sexy, like he'd just gotten out of bed."

Harry smiled at Sirius' story.  He still loved to hear these little things people would say about his parent's life.  

"Do you remember their honeymoon?" Remus asked Sirius who started laughing at the memory.

"What? How would you remember their honeymoon?  You weren't there, were you?"  Harry asked, looking confused.

"They went to Scotland, which is close enough to apparate to, so Remus, Peter and I decided to play a prank on them.  To remind James that just because he was married, that didn't mean he was not a Marauder anymore.  Well, one thing led to another and the next thing we know, Lily is furious with all four of us and she kicked James out of their room in the middle of the night, which made James furious with us for ruining his wedding night," Remus explained.

"Who would have thought Lily would be so sensitive about a harmless prank?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Sirius, you apparated right into their room while they were doing it.  I'd be furious with you too," Remus said exasperatedly.

Harry almost choked.  Sirius slapped him on the back and glared at Remus.  

"How was I supposed to know what they were doing?" he said, defending himself.

"It was their wedding night!  What else were they going to be doing?" Remus cried.

"You come near me tonight and you will die," Harry said grimly to Sirius.

Sirius raised his hands as if to say 'who me?' and grinned maniacally at Harry.

Harry began to feel very, very afraid…


	26. A Serious Conversation

~ Slytherin Common Room ~

Draco jumped merrily down the last couple of steps into the common room.  He was pleased to see the table of food he had organised was in its place with his mother and his friends sitting around it.  He had already set up the Great Hall ready for the ceremony and reception so their guests were eating breakfast in the four house common rooms.  

Draco took a seat next to his mother, opposite Millicent and Pansy.  Crabbe and Goyle were sitting next to the girls.  Blaise was sitting on the other side of his mother, with Marcus Flint (who had come back for the wedding) next to him.  The other members of the Slytherin Quidditch team were down the other end.

"So, what's Harry wearing?"  Draco asked curiously as he helped himself to some toast.  

"I can't tell you, darling.  I promised Harry," Narcissa replied gently.

"How long until I can see him again?" Draco demanded.

"Four hours, thirty-six minutes and twenty-three seconds," replied Blaise, looking down at his watch.

Draco sighed, how on earth was he going to get through four and a half hours?  It really was torture, being separated from Harry for twenty-four hours.  It was a cruel tradition probably started by some sadistic bastard who enjoyed torturing people.  Draco pushed his plate aside and rested his head on the table.

Suddenly he raised his head and banged it down on the table.  He repeated the action to the surprise of all at the table.

"Draco, stop that!" his mother said sharply.

"You'll have a big bruise on your face if you're not careful," warned Pansy.

Draco sat up.  He didn't want to damage his face on this important day.  He just felt like banging his head on the table for some bizarre reason.  Only a couple more hours to go, he thought to himself as he drank his pumpkin juice.  

Draco knew he was being stupid.  It was only twenty-four hours, and he'd already made it through twenty so the next four shouldn't be too bad.  It was just that being with Harry made him feel so much better about himself.  Harry made him feel special.  When Harry looked at him, Draco knew he was seeing something more, something better, than was actually there.  Draco felt like he was a better person when Harry was around.  It was easier to be a good person with Harry.    

Draco finished eating his breakfast and then made his way upstairs to shower and get dressed.

~ Slytherin Seventh Year Boys Dorm Room ~

Draco had finished dressing and was staring critically at his messy wet hair in the mirror.  He'd stopped using that dreadful gel around the same time he'd started seeing Harry.  

"Try a brush, dear," the mirror suggested helpfully.

"Thank god you're here, I never would've thought of that," Draco drawled sarcastically, picking up his brush.  He brushed his hair into place and then used a drying charm to get rid of the excess water.  He frowned at his reflection.

"It looks fine, dear," the mirror said reassuringly.

"No, it doesn't," Draco snapped back, brushing his hair a different way.  "It looks crap."

"It really does look fine, dear," Narcissa said with an amused smile.  

"Hello, Mother," Draco said, putting down his brush.  He turned around to face her.  "How do I look?" 

"So very handsome," she replied with a tear in her eye.  Her little boy had grown up.  Narcissa pulled Draco into a tight hug.  "I'm so proud of you, honey.  Remember that.  I was always proud of you, no matter what your father may have told you."

Draco tensed and pulled back from her in shock.  He stared into her eyes, seeing sorrow and regret in their pale blue depths.  

"Why did you never do anything?" he asked softly.

"I…" Narcissa looked away from her son, guilt clearly written across her face.  "I wanted to…so badly but I didn't dare.  You remember what he was like."

"I was just a child," Draco said despairingly.  As much as he hated to so much as think about this, he felt the need to discuss the past with the one person who knew what he had been through.  

"I know and it tore me apart to know what he was doing to you.  You're my son and I love you.  I would have done anything to protect you but if I intervened he would have killed us both," Narcissa pleaded with him for understanding.

Draco walked over to the window and stared at nothing in particular.  "Death would have been preferable," he commented, as one would comment on the weather.

"Do you really believe that?  Especially now that he's gone and you have Harry?  If you had died, you would never have known this happiness with him," Narcissa replied gently.

"Do you know how much I came to dread going home?  I knew I would never be able to live up to his impossibly high standards.  I knew what was waiting for me at home.  Do you know how many times a person can cast Crucio in an hour and not mentally damage someone?  I do," Draco spat out bitterly.

Narcissa paled but stayed quiet.  He had obviously been bottling this up for a long time and needed to get it all out in the open.

"But do you know what hurt the most?  That you did nothing to stop it.  My own mother allowed it to happen.  How could you tend to your precious roses knowing that inside your son was suffering?" Draco said sadly.

Silent tears fell down Narcissa's face.  "It was so hard for me to sit by and let that bastard hurt you.  That's why I spent so much time in the garden.  I couldn't bear to hear your screams and know that I couldn't do anything about it……I tried once, to stop him, and he threatened me.  He promised that he wouldn't go so far as to kill you if I let him discipline you as he pleased.  I couldn't live without you, darling.  You are my light.  The one thing that made my life worth living.  I'm so sorry I couldn't help you."

Draco had tears running down his face by now.  He pulled his mother into his arms.  

"I'm sorry I brought this up today.  We should be happy today, not bringing up the past.  I know what he was like and I'm sure you did what you thought was best at the time.  I'm sorry for what I said," Draco said, choking on his tears.

"Have you told Harry about this?" Narcissa asked tentatively.

"No," Draco scowled as he wiped his face.

"You're going to have to tell him," she replied.

"I don't have to tell him every little thing that happened to me.  I don't want him to think badly of me," Draco said tensely.

"He would never think badly of you, darling.  Those experiences made you who you are today," Narcissa said tenderly.

"Drop it, Mother.  I am going to forget about this whole thing and just enjoy my wedding day.  I am marrying the most incredible man on earth today and I intend to relish every single second," Draco said firmly, pushing the subject firmly from his mind.


	27. The Wedding Ceremony

~ The Great Hall ~

The Great Hall looked vastly different from how it usually did.  Candles hung in the air and white lilies adorned every possible surface.  The head table was gone, leaving an empty space for the celebrant and Harry and Draco.  Rows of chairs faced this empty space, which were filled with excited wedding guests.  

At the other end of the hall, there were many tables, with chairs to seat ten to a table, surrounding a dance floor.  Draco had managed to get the Weird Sisters to play at the reception and there was a small raised stage at one end of the dance floor.  

Sirius, Remus, Ron and Hermione were seated in the front row on the left side of hall while Narcissa, Snape, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle sat on the right side.  Classical music was playing softly in the background as the guests chatted, waiting for the ceremony to start.  

The music changed and the volume increased, causing the guests to stop mid-sentence and look around.

Harry was standing framed in the doorway on the left side of the hall.  He grinned at everyone and walked purposefully across the hall, in front of the guests to stand in the centre of the empty space where the head table usually resided.  Ron stood up next to Harry, naturally he was Harry's best man.  A youngish man had appeared near Harry, facing the guests with a small black book in his hand.  Harry was facing the right hand door to the hall with a soft smile and bright eyes so the guests turned expectantly.

Draco was standing still, staring at Harry.  He looks incredible, Draco thought proudly and then realised he could have a problem.  Think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts, he commanded himself, Goyle in a g-string, Pansy naked, Snape, just Snape.  That's better, he thought with relief.  Getting married in front of everyone with a raging hard-on was not what he had in mind when he planned this event.  

Draco started walking towards Harry, his eyes never leaving Harry's green ones.  He stopped a couple of feet from Harry and smiled blissfully.  Harry had imagined what Draco would look like in the outfit he had chosen but reality had far surpassed his fantasy.  Draco looked like a golden haired angel in the silvery blue outfit.  Harry felt as if his heart would burst with pride and love for Draco.

Draco slipped his hand into Harry's and they turned to face the priest.  Blaise stood up beside Draco, the obvious choice for his best man, considering Goyle's childish reaction to Harry in Draco's bed.  The priest started the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God to join together this Man and this Man in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate into which these two persons present come now to be joined.  Therefore if any man can show any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace."

There was utter silence in the Great Hall so the priest continued. 

"Harry, will you have this Man to be your wedded husband, to live together in the holy estate of Matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honour, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, so long as you both shall live?"

"I will," Harry replied solemnly and squeezed Draco's hand gently. 

The priest then turned to Draco.

"Draco, will you have this Man to be your wedded husband, to live together in the holy estate of Matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honour, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, so long as you both shall live?"

" I will," Draco replied, his eyes shining, full of love for Harry.

The priest then turned back to the centre and asked the two of them to join hands and for Harry to state his vow.

"Whatever lies ahead, good or bad, we will face together.  Distance may test us for a time, and time may try us.  But if we look to each other first, we will always see a friend.  Draco, look to me for all the days to come; today I take my place as your husband."

Harry's voice quavered towards the end of his vow, the emotional moment getting to him.  Draco squeezed Harry's hands and, through tears of joy, clearly stated his vow.

"I used to be afraid of falling in love, of giving my heart away.  How could I trust a man to love me, to give to me all that I wanted to give to him?  Harry, when I truly saw _you_, I realized how much we could share together.  You have renewed my life: Today I join that life with yours."

"The rings, please," the priest said to the best men.

Ron handed Harry a plain platinum ring with a broad smile.

"Draco, with a free and unconstrained soul, I give you all I am and all I am to become.  Take this ring, and with it my promise of faith, patience, and love, for the rest of my life."  Harry gently slid the ring onto Draco's finger, caressing his hand as he did so.

Blaise handed Draco a matching plain platinum ring.

"Harry, with a free and unconstrained soul, I give you all I am and all I am to become.  Take this ring, and with it my promise of faith, patience, and love, for the rest of my life."  Draco slid the ring onto Harry's finger, 

"You may now kiss each other," the priest said with a smile.

Harry and Draco leaned in towards each other and their lips met in a brief but meaningful kiss.  They grinned at each other.

"FOR AS MUCH as Harry and Draco have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before this company, and thereto have given and pledged their vow, each to the other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving a Ring, and by joining hands; I pronounce that they are wed.  I now present you with Mr and Mr Potter." 

As the priest finished the ceremony there were a few gasps heard throughout the hall.  Only a few had known of Draco's intent to give up his last name and take on Harry's.  He knew he would always be associated with his father and this was his way of renouncing his father's beliefs and showing the world of his true feelings and allegiances.  The name Malfoy had only ever caused him pain so it wasn't hard to give it up.

Harry and Draco turned to face their guests, huge smiles on their faces and their hands still joined.


	28. The End Or The Beginning??

~ The Great Hall ~

"Happy?" Harry asked his husband.  God, I love how that sounds – my husband, he thought with a smile.

"Deliriously," Draco replied with a glorious smile.  They were dancing their first dance as a married couple.  Draco's smile widened and he rubbed the back of Harry's neck as he felt Harry's arms tighten around his waist.  

"Eager for the honeymoon, are you?" Draco teased Harry, rubbing against him as they danced.

"Mmmm," Harry moaned in Draco's ear.  "Don't try to pretend that you aren't just as eager, my dragon.  I saw you when you entered the hall before the ceremony!"

Draco blushed.  "It wasn't that obvious, was it?"

"Only to me," Harry grinned at him.  

~ A Hotel Room In Venice ~

The door to the room burst open and Harry and Draco fell into the room, only just managing to keep their balance.  Miraculously, their fervent kiss was not broken.  Harry slammed the door shut behind him as they kicked off their boots.

Draco's fingers feverishly fumbled with the buttons to Harry's shirt.  He finally managed to rid his husband of his shirt and ran his hands over Harry's chest.  

Harry tugged Draco closer and pushed the blonde's shirt up so he could touch his bare skin.  

Draco, sensing that Harry wasn't thinking clearly, decided to help out by removing his own shirt, tossing it on the floor next to Harry's.  The pair of them fell onto the bed, Harry on top of Draco.  

Draco thrust his hands up in Harry's hair.  "I love you," he whispered breathlessly.

Harry kissed him deeply and tugged Draco's pants down his hips and threw them out of the way.  

"Oh my god," Harry suddenly found that he couldn't breathe.  Draco had gone commando.  Throughout the entire wedding and reception, Draco had worn no underwear.  The thought was incredibly arousing.  

Harry stood up and pulled off his pants and his underwear.  He stared down at his naked husband.

Draco stared up at Harry.  God, he's beautiful, he thought headily.  He reached up and Harry moved willingly into his arms.  Their lips met in a passionate kiss that said more than words ever could….

…….the next morning…….

Harry lay half asleep, just enjoying the feel of Draco's head resting on his chest, Draco's arm around his waist and Draco's even breath on his skin.  This truly is heaven, Harry mused.  They had no commitments, no obligations, just each other.  They had two weeks before they had to be back to move into their house in Godric's Hollow.  Then of course, they had to decide what to do with their futures.  Both of them had several letters of offers from different fields to contemplate while they were away.  

Harry had been offered the position of seeker for Puddlemere United, the opportunity to train to be an Auror with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, and to teach Defence Against The Dark Arts at Hogwarts.  

Draco had been offered the opportunity to train to be an Unspeakable with the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, and to teach Ancient Runes at Hogwarts.  Dumbledore knew that Draco and Harry would never be parted and if he wanted the ultimate DADA teacher, then Draco would tag along.  Coincidentally, Hogwart's was in need of an Ancient Runes teacher due to the early retirement of Professor Zoolander and Draco just happened to be top of the class in Ancient Runes.  

Harry had no idea which job he was going to take.  He only knew that he would have to discuss it with Draco sometime soon.  They had to give their answers almost as soon as they returned from their honeymoon and if one of them didn't want to work at Hogwarts, then there was no point in the other accepting the job.  Harry was ambivalent about teaching at Hogwarts.  He was unsure of what he could teach.  Sure he had a lot of stories he could tell, but what could he actually _teach_?  He had survived so far with the help of his friends and in the words of Professor McGonagall 'sheer dumb luck'.

Harry smiled as he felt Draco stretch next to him.  His smile widened as he felt Draco's arousal against his hip.  

"Good morning, Mr Potter," Harry almost purred.  

Draco lifted his head and smiled up at his husband.  "Good morning, Mr Potter.  You know that could get confusing," he commented.

"Not to us, now shut up and kiss me," Harry commanded playfully.

Draco obliged, sliding up Harry's body until their lips met.  

"Satisfied?" Draco asked with a grin.  

"Not nearly," Harry replied and pulled Draco's head back down to kiss him thoroughly…

…….later that morning…….

Draco awoke to find himself sprawled on top of Harry.  Not an unpleasant place to be, he thought contentedly.  He pressed a kiss down on Harry's shoulder and climbed off the bed carefully so as not to wake Harry.  Draco crept into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror.  Not bad, considering I haven't had a whole lot of sleep in the last thirty-six hours, he thought.  He turned on the shower and stepped into the refreshing water.  

Draco had his eyes tightly shut as he washed his hair so he didn't get shampoo in his eyes.  He was startled to feel someone enter the shower behind him then relaxed when he realised it could only be Harry.  His hands dropped to his sides as he felt Harry's hands massaging his head.

"Mmm, that feels good," Draco groaned in pleasure.  

Harry smiled, he loved that low sexy tone of voice Draco used when he was pleased.  He let the water wash the shampoo out of Draco's hair and then trailed kisses across his husband's shoulders while his hands explored other areas of his husband's delectable body.  

This was definitely turning into a typical muggle honeymoon.  It was highly unlikely that they would make it out of their room in the next two weeks.  It was a deliciously hedonistic feeling, not to have to sneak around to find a place to be _together_.  

Neither Draco nor Harry could wait to start the rest of their lives together….


End file.
